• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Blog Home
  • Topics
    • Keystone Press Releases
    • Politics and Government
    • Legislation
    • Nevada News
    • Tourism & Gaming
    • Rural Nevada
    • Business
    • Opinion
  • Membership
  • Contact Us
  • About Keystone Nevada

Keystone Nevada Korner

Welcome to The Keystone Korner The Official Blog of Keystone Nevada

Home » PARTY LINES: Election’s close races give Nevada purple hue

PARTY LINES: Election’s close races give Nevada purple hue

November 13, 2022 by Pauline Lee

by Steve Sebelius, Las Vegas Review-Journal, November 11, 2022

So, about that red wave …

No, Republicans did not sweep all state offices the way they did in 2014.

Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto narrowly won re-election to her Senate seat, The Associated Press projected Saturday night. Democrats also have been declared the winners of three constitutional offices, majorities in the Legislature and the trio of congressional seats in Southern Nevada.

But Republicans didn’t go away empty-handed: They won the Governor’s Mansion and two of the five constitutional offices. And they may yet flip a couple of legislative seats.

One thing is clear: Nevada is not a blue state, like its neighbors California and Oregon, or a red one, like Utah. Instead, Nevada is a reliable swing state, where either Republicans or Democrats can win in the right environment, with the right candidate who has the right message.

It’s also an important lesson for the parties: More moderate candidates, such as Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo, do better in general elections than candidates with political or personal baggage, such as attorney Sigal Chattah, who was handily losing the race for attorney general, or Las Vegas Councilwoman Michele Fiore, who was losing the race for state treasurer.

And the state also rejected a prominent election denier, preferring relatively unknown Cisco Aguilar to former Assemblyman Jim Marchant, who is so distrustful of electronic voting machines that he even doubted the results of the June primary, which he won.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said it best during an interview, in what might have been a classic Washington “Kinsley gaffe” in which someone accidentally tells the truth: Candidate quality matters.

Then again, let’s not forget that a large number of voters still cast ballots for the more conservative cadre of candidates — more than 435,000 for Marchant, more than 426,000 for Fiore and more than 399,000 for Chattah. That’s not insignificant, and that’s one of the inevitable takeaways from the 2022 election.

Double-checking

When Nye County’s new clerk, Mark Kampf, announced that he would conduct an election entirely with paper ballots and then hand-count the results, an important question arose: Could the county finish the counting in time? Nye County logged 12,450 ballots in the June primary and 17,582 votes in the midterm general election of 2018.

That’s a lot of ballots to count by hand.

But it turns out Nye had no problem submitting its results to the secretary of state’s office. The county even congratulated itself on a job well-done in a news release.

“Per Nye County Clerk, Mark Kampf, ‘over the last two and a half weeks, our team of dedicated Deputy Clerks, Poll Workers and Election Board Officials successfully implemented a paper ballot process for Nye County. Other than drop box and mail ballots received on Election Day, all Early Vote and Election Day ballots were tabulated by 11:59 pm on November 8th. This demonstrates that an all-paper ballot process can be implemented successfully in a tightly controlled process.

‘I couldn’t be prouder of the team that made this happen. They should all be congratulated for their hard work and attention to detail that made this such a success.’”

Just one thing about that: The ballots were “tabulated” not by hand but by Dominion machines that read the paper ballots and automatically added up the results.

The hand-counting? That’s taking place after the election, as a way to double-check and verify that the Dominion numbers are correct. So it’s less of a bonafide ballot-counting method and more of an election skeptic’s performance art.

What happens if the human hand-counters come up with a different number than the machine counts? Well, let’s hope we don’t have to confront that possibility.

When will it end?

The TV ads are gone. The obnoxious unsolicited texts have stopped. But the ridiculous fundraising emails? They’re still coming.

“You’ve been a TOP member of Team Laxalt, and we know that we wouldn’t be here without you,” reads an Adam Laxalt for Senate fundraising missive sent on Friday, three days after the election. “But we need your help one more time if we want to bring this one home.

“The Senate majority, the future of Nevada, and the future of AMERICA all depend on Adam winning this race. Please rush a donation now to help Adam finish the fight.”

Precisely how that donation will help — funding an expected recount perhaps? — isn’t clear.

And then there was Laura Carlson, digital director of the Democratic Governors Association, who liked to include her own photo in her fundraising pitches. She emailed on Monday to say this:

“Team, this is my final opportunity to reach out to you before voters head to the polls,” she began. “And with just hours to go before voters head to the polls across the country, I need your help.”

Our takeaway: The FINAL opportunity!

She continued: “Key races across the country are still too close to call, and our team is doing everything we can to make sure our candidates come out on top in states like Michigan, Nevada, and Arizona. Our final efforts in states like these could be what puts our Dem candidates over the top.”

Well, on Monday, all the races were too close to call, because no vote totals had been released! But the association did win Michigan and Arizona, but lost in Nevada, where Sisolak conceded the race on Friday.

Looks like not enough people donated on the last day before the election. Sad!

OK, overachievers

Culinary Local 226 boasted before Election Day that it had reached a milestone in the 2022 election, knocking on more than 1 million doors to canvass for union-endorsed candidates. According to the union, more than 450 canvassers had more than 175,000 conversations with voters, some of whom may even have been nice!

No matter what your political party or preference, you’ve got to appreciate that kind of organization and human resource operation.

But Culinary wasn’t done! After the election, the union announced that it had the largest ballot curing operation ever. “Curing” is the process whereby voters whose signatures on their mail ballot envelopes did not match their signatures on file with the elections office can verify their identity and certify their ballot is valid.

Two hundred canvassers are working on the curing effort, by phone banks, canvassing and even on employee lunch breaks, to ensure that mismatched signature ballots are verified before the Monday deadline.

All of which goes to say: The Culinary does not play when it comes to its political operation.

Contact Steve Sebelius at [email protected] or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.

Filed Under: Politics and Government Tagged With: Culinary Local 226, Democratic Governors Association, Joe Lombardo, Republican Governors Association

Primary Sidebar

Connect with Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
Bootleg Bistro
Bootleg Bistro Ad
SLLC_Keystone_Blog-Ad_300x500_10%-Off-Repairs_05.19.21
CIOServices Ad 300x500-100
BRH Keystone Ad JPEG
Willow_Manor
Keystone Corporation Nevada

News Topics

  • Keystone Press Releases
  • Politics and Government
  • Legislation
  • Nevada News
  • Tourism & Gaming
  • Rural Nevada
  • Business
  • Opinion

Rural Nevada

As Nevada farmers retire, few taking their place as number of farms continues to shrink

November 13, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Amy Alonzo, The Nevada Independent, November 13th, 2023 For more than 50 years, Rick and B. Ann Lattin operated Lattin Farms in Fallon, a … [Read More...] about As Nevada farmers retire, few taking their place as number of farms continues to shrink

Winnemucca braces for massive lithium mine

September 18, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Ray Hagar, Nevada Newsmakers, September 18, 2023 Winnemucca, a town of more than 8,600 residents off Interstate 80 in Northern Nevada, is proud … [Read More...] about Winnemucca braces for massive lithium mine

Weather may have slowed January sales

April 8, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By The Record Courier Staff, April 4, 2023 For the third month in a row, Douglas County merchants reported a decrease in taxable sales, though not … [Read More...] about Weather may have slowed January sales

30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

March 29, 2023 By Courtney Holland

By Robin Hebrock, Pahrump Valley Times, March 28, 2023 Business is booming in the Pahrump Valley, with dozens of new companies looking to bring … [Read More...] about 30 new projects in Pahrump: Arby’s, Chipotle, Midas Muffler, 3 convenient stores & more

Opinion

EDITORIAL: Absentee ballot fraud concerns lead to new election

November 27, 2023 By Keystone Admin

By the Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board, November 24, 2023 Reality is catching up to those who downplay the possibility of absentee and … [Read More...] about EDITORIAL: Absentee ballot fraud concerns lead to new election

OPINION: Be thankful we’re a little different in Nevada

November 27, 2023 By Keystone Admin

By Michael Schaus, The Nevada Independent, November 26th, 2023 Nevada is a state that’s difficult to explain to outsiders.  For many, our … [Read More...] about OPINION: Be thankful we’re a little different in Nevada

EDITORIAL: Red states, blue states — a tale of migration

November 27, 2023 By Keystone Admin

Tax rates matter. By the Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board, November 20, 2023 U.S. migration patterns speak volumes about progressive … [Read More...] about EDITORIAL: Red states, blue states — a tale of migration

Tags

Adam Laxalt Biden Administration Business Business Columns Casinos & Gaming Catherine Cortez Masto Clark County Clark County School District Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) economy Editorials Education Elon Musk Gov. Joe Lombardo Gov. Steve Sisolak Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Housing inflation Joe Lombardo las vegas Local Local Las Vegas Local Nevada mc-business mc-local mc-news mc-opinion Nevada Nevada Legislature News North Las Vegas NPRI Opinion Opinion Columns PAID Politics and Government Roe v. Wade school choice Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto small businesses Sports Tesla tourism unemployment rate Victor Joecks

Footer

Copyright © 2023 · Keystone Corporation - All Rights Reserved · Log in
Privacy Policy
By accessing this site, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use

The views, opinions and conclusions expressed by the authors of any article or post on the Keystone Korner are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members. Moreover, any reference to a person, party, product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Keystone Corporation or its officers and board members.