July 19 (Bloomberg) -- After a bumpy descent on a six-seat plane into the Elko Regional Airport in rural Nevada, Bill Richardson immediately begins shaking hands.

It's what he does best. After all, the New Mexico governor and Democratic presidential hopeful is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most handshakes by a politician: 13,392 in eight hours.

It'll take more than stamina and a firm grip to wrest the nomination from better-known, better-financed opponents. If Richardson is to do it, the road runs through Nevada, which for the first time is likely to hold the second contest on the Democrats' calendar, between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.

``I'm running for president even though some might say I'm an underdog; some might say I don't have the money some other candidates do; some might say I'm not a rock star like the other candidates,'' Richardson tells the crowd of about 170 people inside a hot airport hangar on a Friday afternoon. ``I will win this nomination by going grassroots.''

He would seem to have the perfect resume to pull it off. Richardson has extensive domestic experience as an eight-term congressman and U.S. energy secretary, along with experience negotiating with Iraq's Saddam Hussein, North Korean generals and Cuba's Fidel Castro as a former United Nations ambassador and international troubleshooter. Finally, he's a Hispanic governor of a western state, giving him a bead on two crucial targets for the Democratic Party.

Rock-Star Status

Still, the rock-star status in the Democratic race belongs to Senators Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois and, to a lesser extent, former Senator John Edwards, the 2004 vice presidential nominee. They cast a long shadow over the rest of the pack, Richardson included.

Given the opportunity to break out in front of national audiences, Richardson hasn't helped himself. In a May appearance on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' he stumbled in answering questions about Iraq, energy, immigration -- trying to explain why he endorsed the Senate's comprehensive overhaul, then 72 hours later came out against it -- and even whether he roots for the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees.

Peter Fenn, a Democratic political consultant who has known Richardson for 30 years, said he was surprised how little mark the governor made in two debates with the other seven Democratic candidates.

``The Bill I know ain't coming across in these debates,'' said Fenn, who isn't affiliated with any candidate. ``He's acting too controlled and too worried.''

Needing a Win

Richardson's long-shot bid is counting on Nevada, like New Mexico a western state with a large Hispanic community. Richardson ``needs a win in Nevada like John Edwards needs a win in Iowa,'' said Eric Herzik, chairman of the political science department at the University of Nevada in Reno. ``If he doesn't do well here, he has no momentum.''

Richardson is the only candidate to call for pulling all U.S. forces from Iraq within six months, leaving open the question of protection for the embassy and other U.S. interests. He supports cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent, reducing demand for foreign oil by 50 percent and imposing 50- miles-a-gallon vehicle fuel-economy standards in 12 years. He also favors creating a national health-care insurance system and higher pay for teachers

Polls and Money

A July 12-15 Gallup Organization poll put his support among Democrats at about 5 percent, compared with 40 percent for Clinton, 28 percent for Obama and 13 percent for Edwards. The $7.1 million Richardson had on hand for the primaries at the end of June was dwarfed by Obama's $34 million and Clinton's $33 million. Edwards had $12 million.

In Nevada, a June Mason-Dixon poll put Richardson's support at 7 percent, well behind Clinton and Obama and 5 percentage points behind Edwards. His campaign has been showing some signs of momentum in New Hampshire, where a July 9-17 CNN/WMUR poll showed him edging ahead of Edwards 11 percent to 9 percent. The survey has a margin of error of 5 percentage points.

Richardson, 59, said he's perfectly happy with his underdog status for now because it enables him to do what he likes best: shake hands and engage in one-on-one, retail politics.

Clinton and Obama ``come in and do big rallies in gyms and then leave,'' Richardson said in an interview. ``They are so hamstrung by their entourages and their celebrity. They can have all that. I just want the voters.''

Working the Crowd

In a 24-hour visit to Nevada last week, his eighth campaign trip to the state, Richardson, wearing jeans and a blue t-shirt, worked the early-evening crowd at a farmers market outside Reno for 90 minutes, clasping hands with, by his estimate, about 500 people.

That night, he spent about two hours at a house party, where 150 people signed cards pledging support. The next day, Richardson met with members of a senior citizens' center, a firefighters' union and a teachers' association.

Richardson is at his best in small groups and with individuals, said Dean Spiliotes, an independent political analyst in New Hampshire: ``He'll shake your hand and grab your shoulder at the same time.''

Between events in Reno, Richardson squeezed in an hour workout at his hotel -- he's trying to lose weight -- before meeting with about 100 supporters at the opening of his campaign headquarters there. Then he hopped aboard his plane for the hour-long flight to Elko. ``I'm going to out-work everybody,'' he said. ``I don't want to surge right now. I want to surge at the end.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Dodge in Washington at cdodge1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 19, 2007 00:11 EDT