Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Democratic presidential contender Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton read to preschoolers at Krieger Center on the University of California at Los Angeles campus. Villaraigosa endorsed Rodham Clinton as his presidential preference after their preschool visit Wednesday.

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SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson went to Los Angeles last week looking for Hispanic voters, supporters and endorsers.

He got a few, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina and state Sen. Gilbert Cedillo.

But Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton grabbed perhaps the biggest Hispanic name in California politics as Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave her the nod for president on Wednesday.

Political scientists say the endorsement would have been a good one for Richardson to land, but his campaign for the Democratic nomination won't be crushed without the mayor's help.

"In a sense, he's a major city mayor and it'd be good to have his endorsement," said University of Arizona political science professor John Garcia. "But Villaraigosa isn't the only game in town."

Richardson has other important Hispanic Democrats backing him, said University of California-San Diego political science professor Thad Kousser, who also said the Hispanic community is too diverse to be behind a single candidate.

"Molina and Cedillo are major figures," he said. "Just because the leader of one faction has signed on with Clinton doesn't mean Richardson can't make inroads with the Hispanic community. There are a lot of factions."

Richardson, born in Pasadena, Calif., to a Mexican mother, has said he doesn't want to run only as a Hispanic candidate. But as an underdog, he needs as many backers in California as he can get.

When he formally announced his candidacy in Los Angeles on May 21, Richardson was surrounded by a group of supporters. His campaign released a list of endorsements, including a few Hispanic state senators and city councilors from around California.

But Kousser and others say Richardson needs more and specifically named California House Speaker Fabian Nuñez as a high-profile lawmaker Richardson should try to get to on board.

Nuñez, however, has already endorsed Clinton, his office said Wednesday.

California became a critical state when it moved its primary election from June 2008 to Super Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Richardson's campaign said Villaraigosa's endorsement of Clinton isn't a big deal.

"Gov. Richardson is more interested in getting the support of Latino voters rather than big-name Latino leaders," spokesman Pahl Shipley said in a statement.

"He has never felt that high-profile endorsements help much in a campaign. The governor is confident he will carry California on Feb. 5."

Both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama have out-raised Richardson in California, according to the most recent campaign finance reports.

Californians gave Richardson $563,000, compared with Obama's $3.7 million and Clinton's $7 million.

Richardson needs to seek out endorsements from other leaders in the Southwest, including Arizona's Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano, Garcia said.

"She's still very popular. She's been mentioned for national offices in the future," he said.

Napolitano, a Sandia High School graduate, hasn't decided whom she will endorse, her office said Wednesday.

Overall, Garcia said, it's still far enough away from next year's primary elections that voters probably aren't keeping track of who has endorsed whom.

"There's no urgency to jump on the bandwagon from the endorser's point of view, but for the candidates, they want to get those going," he said.