NV REPUBS NEED TO PLAY THE HARRY REID CARD TO WIN HOUSE & SENATE SEATS

April 9, 2023

Rob Lauer Political Reporter

The 2022 midterm elections in Nevada exposed a significant advantage for Dems who won by the slightest margins in both house seats and the race for the U.S. Senate. Susie Lee beat April Becker by less than 5,00 votes out of 228,560 total votes cast, less than 2%. Catherine Cortez Masto beat Adam Laxalt 48.8 % to 48%. Masto got 7,923 more votes out of 1,020,850 total votes cast. Three center right third party candidates garnered 25,724 votes. Center right third party candidates have cost Republicans numerous races over the last decade.

Strong messaging, a great fund raising and ground game, and solid candidates are all still necessary. But none of that can overcome the Harry Reid Card in Nevada politics.

Dems are masters still at playing the Harry Reid Card. In 2016, when Green Party Candidate Jill Stein tried to get on the ballot in Nevada, our FAKE Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske  blocked her access to the ballot. The Nevada Green Party needed 5,431 signatures to make the ballot, and they turned in 8,277, but after the verification process, they were 647 signatures short of making the ballot. U.S. District Judge Jennifer Dorsey, appointed by President Obama in 2012, denied the Nevada Green Party’s appeal to accept signatures collected after the deadline. 1,125,385 total votes were cast in 2016 for president in Nevada, with 539,260 going to Hillary Clinton and 512,058 to Donald Trump, with a margin of just over 27k votes. Again, 45,204 votes were cast for center-right third-party candidates. Jill Stein blocked from the ballot made ALL the difference.

Nevada has always been a center-right state, and Dems have needed to play dirty to win. In 2010, Harry Reid spent millions in the Republican primary to defeat Sue Lowden, and yes, Danny Tarkanian to make sure his Republican opponent was Sharron Angle in the general election. Harry Reid won by 41,424 votes, while five center-right third-party candidates, including a Tea Party candidate, garnered over 37K votes. Just one center-left candidate could have tanked Reid in 2010.

If Republicans want a chance next year to beat Jacky Rosen for the U.S. Senate in Nevada or Susie Lee for CD3, they need to fund a primary opponent to bloody up Dem incumbents. Then Republicans need to fully fund a center left third party. A center-left third party that can grab 1–2 points will deliver victory to the Republicans.

The final issue Republicans need to work through is their expensive, competitive primaries, that leaves our folks bloodied and broke to face well funded Democrats in the general election. Perhaps Republicans need to hold pre-primary races?

Today, the Democrat Party is seriously fractured after their civil war ended with Bernie Sanders supporters being cast out by the Democrat Machine last month. Many of those folks are extremely mad and may form a center left third party. We should encourage this.

The Reverse Harry Reid Card; clean Republican primaries, competitive Dem primaries, and center left third party candidates may be the only way Republicans win competitive federal elections in Nevada and help the Republican Nominee win the Presidency.