LAS VEGAS—With rich diversity, distinctive politics and a strong working class, Nevada is an important checkpoint in the Democratic race for president.

On Saturday voters in caucuses in the Battle Born State will reset the odds in a primary that could drag on until July’s Democratic National Convention.

And for the first time in the nomination process, the major contenders will appeal to a complex electorate that includes union workers, black voters and young residents, as well as an emerging LatinX, Asian American and Pacific Islander population.

The outcome will offer clues on what to expect in the March 3 Texas primaries. The Lone Star State, like Nevada, has a fast-growing Hispanic population, an influential bloc of black Democratic base voters and white progressives and moderates. But Nevada, unlike Texas, is already a purple state with a strong Democratic Party base built in part by former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and powerful unions.

Maria Urbina, national political director for the progressive group Indivisible, said successful presidential candidates have to navigate Nevada’s various communities with respect, whether they are in cafecito shops, churches, noodle restaurants or union halls.

“You also have to have a deep engagement of communities of color here,” said Urbina, a Nevadan who once worked for Reid. “You have to have a level of authenticity and respect in engaging these communities.”

At stake are 48 delegates. But more than the delegate haul, the winning candidate can tout their ability to appeal to a diverse electorate, unlike the mostly white environs of Iowa and New Hampshire.

Urbina said the common analysis is that Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is poised to finish first in Nevada. That was the finding of a recent poll by The Las Vegas Review-Journal and AARP that had Sanders with a double-digit lead over former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts.

“What gets real interesting is when you start digging into the next layer,” she said. “Who gets that coveted second or third place? That’s going to signal to folks where this race is headed, especially in a set of diverse states coming in March.”

Maria Cardona, a political strategist and commentator, said Nevada is an important part of the primary contest.

“After Nevada voters chime in we’ll have a much better sense of where the race is going,” she said. “One of the faults that we have seen up until now is that too many people are way too eager to pronounce a front-runner before any communities of color have chimed in. Democrats, for sure, cannot have a nominee that does not have a majority of support within minority communities. Nevada will start to give us a flavor of that.”

Nevada Democrats say close to 75,000 people took part in early caucus voting, almost more than the total number of people that participated in the 2016 caucuses, won by Hillary Clinton over Sanders.

The 2020 Democratic candidates have disparate goals for the caucuses. Sanders wants another first-place finish to bolster his front-runner status, while Biden is looking for at least a second-place finish to gain momentum heading into the South Carolina primary, where he badly needs a win.

Former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg won the Iowa caucuses, but is polling poorly with African American and Hispanic voters that are critical cogs of the Nevada primary electorate. Nevada offers a major test for the upstart contender. Warren of Massachusetts needs a boost, as does Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who’s expected to finish off the pace.

“For Buttigieg and Klobuchar, if they can’t really make some gains and penetrate a state like Nevada, they’re going to have a hard time everywhere else, like Texas, Colorado and California," Urbina said.

Sanders’ bloc

On Tuesday, at a rally at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Sanders looked more like the insurgent candidate of 2016 than the front-runner. Before a largely young crowd, he urged supporters to keep the revolution alive.

“If there is a large voter turnout here in Nevada, I believe we’re going to win the caucuses,” Sanders said. “If we win the caucuses here, we’re going to do really well in South Carolina, California and on Super Tuesday. If we do well on Super Tuesday, we’re going to win the Democratic nomination.”

Sanders’ volunteers have been on the ground in Nevada for months.

On Thursday, California musician Matthew Hardenrider took a break from knocking on doors at the bar at Mr. Chow in Caesars Palace, hoping to get away from caucus buzz.

“It looks like he’s going to do well,” Hardenrider said. “Most every door I’ve knocked has been a pleasant experience.”

Biden’s test

In Nevada, the stakes are highest for Biden. The former front-runner had disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire and has been sliding in the national polls. He’s insisted that once communities of color started voting, his standing in the primary would improve.

Nevada is his first test.

“The idea that we’re going to decide a nomination before we’ve heard of all of you is absolutely ridiculous,” Biden told a crowed jammed into the Harbor Palace Seafood Restaurant in Las Vegas’ Chinatown.

“We’re going to take back this country, lead the world again and become the envy of the world again,” he said.

Kellen Augustine, a 30-year-old investment broker from Las Vegas, said Biden was the best chance to beat Trump.

“He’s going to rebound,” he said. “Nevada is just the beginning.”

Buttigieg’s challenge

About 15 minutes, away Buttigieg was wrapping up a brief forum sponsored by the UNLV School of Law Black Law Students Association.

Buttigieg was the surprise winner in Iowa, but is not expected to duplicate that feat in Nevada. He’s largely unknown to black voters here, and many of them expressed concern about the distrust between South Bend black and Hispanic residents and the police department. The department doesn’t reflect the diversity of the community, and Buttigieg fired the city’s first black police chief, Darryl Boykins.

“That’s what I’m here to listen to him talk about,” said Caleb Green, a Las Vegas lawyer who recently graduated from UNLV’s law school. He said he will caucus for either Warren or Sanders.

At the forum sponsored by the school’s Black Law Students Association, Buttigieg answered questions about his record in South Bend.

“We learned that there are no simple and straightforward fixes to the walls of mistrust and patterns of inequity that have built up over the years, decades and century,” Buttigieg said.

Other contenders are busy in Nevada as well.

Warren, fresh off her strong debate performance, was campaigning in North Las Vegas Thursday, including a stop at EllaEms’ Soul Food. On Friday she’s scheduled a Nevada bus tour.

Billionaire businessman Tom Steyer, who hopes to do well in Nevada, has been running television ads and has campaigned heavily across the state. He also has a Friday rally planned.