Republican early voters outnumber Democrats

Republicans turned out in slightly larger numbers than Democrats statewide during the first week of early voting, according to the Nevada secretary of state's office.

The GOP turnout from Oct. 16 through Friday was 68,574 voters, or 16.7 percent of active registered Republicans in the state.

That compares to 68,449 Democrats, for a turnout of 14.5 percent.

Voters registered as nonpartisan were showing up at the polls in healthy numbers, too: 24,346 in the first week for a turnout of 13.9 percent.

Typically, more than half of Nevadans take advantage of early voting, which ends Oct. 29, four days before the Nov. 2 election.

Turnout is key to victory in the race between U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic incumbent, and his GOP challenger, Sharron Angle.

President Barack Obama visited Las Vegas to rally voters Friday night in hopes of driving up turnout, just two days after Vice President Joe Biden appeared with Reid in Reno to do the same.

First lady Michelle Obama is due in Las Vegas on Nov. 1, the eve of the election, suggesting Democrats are worried the Senate majority leader is in danger of losing the close race that is key to Obama's agenda.

So, how to read the early returns?

Republicans generally have higher turnout in midterm elections, so the first week of early voting isn't that unusual. Also, more traditional Republicans often prefer to vote on Election Day.

Democrats, meanwhile, have a statewide voter registration edge over the GOP, about 60,000 now.

That means that if both parties -- and particularly Reid and Angle -- turn out their base supporters and Republicans maintain their midterm election edge, the independent voters could decide the outcome.

Heading into the election, polls showed Angle picking up more independents than Reid, although the gap had narrowed to 8 percentage points in the most recent Mason-Dixon poll this month.

Bottom line, the Reid-Angle race remains one of the closest in the country.

And the outcome will likely come down to whether the Democrats' voter turnout machine is up to the challenge of overcoming GOP energy and independent voter unhappiness with the poor state of the economy, especially in the hardest hit state of Nevada.

The Angle campaign was nearly giddy Saturday about the early voting trends and the GOP contender's ability to far outdo Reid in fundraising in the final weeks of the race.

"In a week when the majority leader brought both the vice president and the president of the United States to his state to help motivate the base, Republicans are still outperforming the Democrats at the polls," Angle communications director Jarrod Agen wrote in a campaign e-mail. "No bounce from the two highest elected officials in the land."

Reid campaign officials expressed confidence their get-out-the-vote effort would prevail and noted Democrats have turned in 2,000 more absentee ballots than Republicans, a figure not reflected yet in the overall vote totals.

Reid campaign officials also criticized Angle for largely keeping a low profile and avoiding reporters, while Reid holds one public event after another with high-profile Democrats he needs to help put him over the top.

"Why won't you give just one single press conference in each market and answer the questions you've been running from for months?" Reid campaign spokesman Kelly Steele asked in an e-mail Saturday.

The Angle campaign believes its road to victory lies in staying competitive with Reid in Clark County, where he and the Democrats have a big advantage, and winning Washoe County, where she lives, and then picking up most of rural Nevada, where Reid's popularity has plummeted and where Republicans outnumber Democrats in all counties except Mineral.

Contact Laura Myers at 387-2919 or lmyers@reviewjournal.com.

Trending topics:

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• early voting
• Laura Myers
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Comments

Note: Comments made by reporters and editors of the Las Vegas Review-Journal are presented with a yellow background.

1. Deep.Thoughts Oct. 26, 2010 | 4:47 p.m. Report Abuse

   Reid is worthless, he won't even be leader anymore after this year. What power does he really have. No one has seen it, must be imaginary.

2. Nevada44 Oct. 25, 2010 | 10:57 p.m. Report Abuse

   Sharron Angle has made voting in this election simple for both democrats and republicans – vote Reid. The wacko tea baggers descending on the state of Nevada and telling Nevadans how they should vote is insulting to all voters. Nevadans can see that Angle is both crazy and dangerous and that her ideas would do great damage to our state. The US and the entire world is in a deplorable economic condition and Senator Reid, as Senate Majority Leader, has made huge efforts to help Nevadans through these tough times. Replacing Senator Reid, the #1 senator (Majority Leader), with a #100 senator who will be shunned as a wacko by both republicans and democrats alike will be an unmitigated disaster for all Nevadans. Nevada’s only real influence on the federal government lies with its two senators – the voices of Nevada’s three congressional representatives are scarcely heard. Nevada cannot afford to lose the influence Senator Reid brings to Nevada.

3. ananda Oct. 25, 2010 | 10:33 p.m. Report Abuse

   Yes, I-Burn, financial market policies and fiscal stimulus implemented by the Obama administration ended the Great Recession. Just read Alan S. Blinder and Mark Zandi's July 2010 report, "How the Great Recession Was Brought to an End."
   
   The fiscal stimulus that Sharron Angle's campaign ads want us to believe "failed" actually "raised real GDP by 3.4%" and added "almost 2.7 million jobs to U.S. payrolls." Without this stimulus, the authors suggest, "GDP in 2010 would be 11.5% lower, payroll employment would be less by some 8.5 million jobs, and the nation would now be experiencing deflation."
   
   How interesting that Zandi, formerly an advisor to John McCain's presidental campaign, contributes to a report that provides the evidence and analysis to say that Obama's policies worked and that without them we'd all have been far worse off.

4. I-Burn Oct. 25, 2010 | 6:26 p.m. Report Abuse

   Oh save your faux outrage, Jack. It isn't as if you'd be voting for her anyway. And just as unlikely that anyone who might be offended would either. With a large majority of reporters blantantly in the bag for Dems, I certainly don't blame anyone for not wanting to speak to one. Start taking the journalistic creedo seriously and folks won't be so reluctant to chat with you, reporters.

5. Jack.Webb Oct. 25, 2010 | 6:22 p.m. Report Abuse

   Dirty Sharry: Still Hiding from the American People
   Sharron Angle used a decoy to dodge members of the press at an event on Monday.
   
   The Tea Party-backed pol, who has avoided public appearances since offering racially insensitive remarks to a group of Hispanic students, left reporters waiting at an event at a Microsoft Licensing office for nearly two hours (between the time she showed up late until they realized that she had actually left). Getting out of the building without being noticed, however, was tricky. According to Mackenzie Warren, a morning reporter for Reno's NBC-affiliate, KRNV, a staffer for Angle's campaign suckered the press by making it appear that she would be leaving the front entrance (the one she initially entered) while she was, instead, exiting through a side door.

6. I-Burn Oct. 25, 2010 | 2:43 p.m. Report Abuse

   Harry Reid: “But for me, we’d be in a worldwide depression."
   
   Democrats do you agree? No waffling, or eqivocation please. Yes or no?

7. inspyro Oct. 25, 2010 | 1:56 p.m. Report Abuse

   Interesting story and more interesting comments.

8. Matt.Lutz Oct. 25, 2010 | 1:07 p.m. Report Abuse

   Can you imagine having Reid and Obama for 4 or more years. Look at what this combo has done to this country in only 2 years of power. Highest unemployment....HUGE debit BIg government entitlments. Socialist. We need small government and money in the citizens hands not the governments.

9. Matt.Lutz Oct. 25, 2010 | 1:02 p.m. Report Abuse

   WHY would we not fire Reid? Highest unemployment rate in the nation!!!!!!! Highest foreclosure rate. And people have to think about who they are going to vote for???
   
   We can't do worst... All Reid cares about is kissing Obama's A##. Could care less about Nevada. Need a represenative who will stir things up. OBAMA won't send any monies to NEvada he already knows he has Reid in his back pocket.

10. keep.obama Oct. 25, 2010 | 8:11 a.m. Report Abuse

    So this only means that the Republican voters are voting Harry Reid...they know that Sharron is "Wild" and don't want any part of what the TP'ers want to push on to the fine citizens of Nevada.

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