Tag: Nevada

Posted on

2020 Caucus: Nevada Registers 10,000 New Democratic Voters

From the Nevada Democratic party:

The Nevada State Democratic Party announced today that more than 10,000 Nevadans registered to vote as Democrats to participate during the historic four-day early voting period. Over the course of four days of early voting, nearly 75,000 Nevadans turned out to participate in the caucus.

Thanks to same-day voter registration, the caucus has already significantly grown the Democratic voter registration advantage over Republicans in Nevada — again — ahead of the 2020 general election.

At the start of 2020, Democrats held a growing statewide registration advantage of more than 80,000, or above 5%. Independent and nonpartisan voters now outnumber registered Republicans in Clark County, relegating the GOP to third-party status in the state’s most populous county.

“With more than 10,000 Nevadans newly registering as Democrats during early voting, it’s clear that we are bringing a wave of new voters into our party and building a growing coalition who will mobilize for our nominee in November,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II. “This is how we beat Donald Trump and elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2020.”

Posted on

News Round-Up: February 17, 2020

Some news items you might have missed: • InstaHunks: Fitness trainer Diego Lozano (above) couldn’t resist working out on South Beach in Miami although he does note, “A little shade wouldn’t go wrong with this gym.” Follow him on Instagram here. • Washington Blade: The Virginia Senate on Monday passed a bill that would prohibit health care providers from engaging in so-called conversion therapy for minors. The Virginia House of Delegates on Feb. 3 passed its version of the bill. Governor Ralph Northam is expected to sign it into law. • Pink News: An activist group called Queers Against Pete tried to shout down Pete Buttigieg for ‘not representing’ the community while he was talking about his husband. The activists list a string of policy disagreements and grievances with the “out of touch” Buttigieg but are not targeting any of the heterosexual candidates in the race who hold similar policy positions – only Buttigieg. • DListed: Social media users roasted music legend Chaka Khan for her rendition of the national anthem at the NBA All-Star game this weekend. I render no verdict – take a listen.

• NewNowNext: When RuPaul swung by Live With Kelly and Ryan Monday to dish about hosting SNL, he and Kelly Ripa, who hosted SNL back in 2003, shared stories about what it’s like being caught up in the chaotic live taping of the show—particularly between sketches. • Las Vegas Caucus: 8NewsNow in Las Vegas reports that as of 9 a.m. Monday, Nevada Democrats said that more than 26,000 Nevadans participated in the first two days of the early voting process. Of the more than 18,000 voters that participated in the first day, NV Dems says 56 percent of them were first-time caucus-goers. • Campaign Ads: I will give Mike Bloomberg’s campaign team this, they can come up with some devastating ad spots. Check out these two – a President’s Day spot that contrasts the dignity and uplift of previous presidents to the current occupant of the Oval office. The second highlights the overly-aggressive trolling by so-called ‘Bernie Bros’ who routinely attack anyone who doesn’t support their guy.

Posted on

Politico: Bernie Sanders Is Becoming Harder To Stop

Sen. Bernie Sanders solid base is serving him well as the more centrist Democrats splinter the rest of the race. Reporting from Nevada, Politico writes that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)  is becoming harder to stop and “his opponents are starting to realize it.”

Advisers to three rival campaigns privately conceded over the weekend that the best anyone else could hope for here is second or third.

While few expect that Sanders can carry more than a third of the vote in Nevada, nearly everyone believes that will be enough to win in a field where the moderate vote remains splintered. It is becoming a source of celebration for Sanders’ supporters and an urgent problem for those who want to prevent him from claiming the nomination.

Posted on

Long Lines Of Patient Dems On Day One Of Nevada Caucus

I’ve been a bit slow to post today as I took part in the early caucusing here in Las Vegas. I thought, since it was an early day, it would be a quick ‘in and out’ kind of thing. Boy, was I wrong. The line was out the door of my local YMCA where I caucused. It eventually took nearly two hours to cast my vote. Speaking to a volunteer, the process that had been planned for months was scrapped after the Iowa caucus debacle. So, folks in charge were scrambling a bit to come up with a workable solution. Adding to that were the longer than anticipated lines. There’s definitely enthusiasm on the ground here in Nevada. Once I finally got up to the front, I was given my ballot and told I was required to list my top three choices in order, just in case my top choice didn’t get enough votes come caucus day. You had the option of listing your top five if you felt like it. As you passed people calmly standing in line, you heard the same thing over and over again: ‘Just as long as HE’s not in the White House after this election.’ Standing in line, I can say the conversations I had with the friendly folks around me tended to lean to Biden and Buttigieg. The latest poll by the Las Vegas Review-Journal shows Sen. Bernie Sanders in the lead with 25 percent support followed by former Vice President Joe Biden at 18 percent support. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts pulled 13 percent support, businessman Tom Steyer drew 11 percent, former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg got 10 percent support and Sen. Amy Klobuchar garnered 10 percent support.

Posted on

Pete Buttigieg Endorsed By Equality California And Silver State Equality

Equality California, the nation’s largest statewide LGBTQ civil rights organization, and its Nevada-based affiliate Silver State Equality announced their endorsement of Mayor Pete Buttigieg for President of the United States on Thursday. The decision was reached unanimously by the groups’ joint presidential endorsement committee following a lengthy process that included a detailed questionnaire, thorough evaluation of the candidates’ viability and policy positions, staff engagement and interviews with the candidates.

“From his comprehensive plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 to his commitment to make our schools safe and supportive for LGBTQ students to his specific funding and policy priorities to protect and empower the transgender community — especially transgender women of color, who face an epidemic of violence and persecution — Mayor Pete Buttigieg has the boldest, most comprehensive agenda to achieve full, lived equality for all LGBTQ people of any presidential candidate in the nation’s history. “While we did not endorse Mayor Pete simply because he’s gay, the historic nature of his candidacy has already had a transformational impact on the LGBTQ community. Electing the first openly LGBTQ president will send a message to millions of LGBTQ youth across the country that no dreams are too big and no leadership position is too high.

For the first time, California’s primary will be held on Super Tuesday in March, and California voters will begin casting mail-in ballots on Monday, February 3, the same day as the Iowa Caucus. The 2020 Nevada Caucus will be held on Saturday, February 22. (via press release)

Posted on

South Carolina & Nevada Polls Show Two Different Races

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll

Sen. Elizabeth Warren surges past former Vice President Joe Biden in latest Iowa poll The first polls from CNN/SRSS on the upcoming South Carolina Democratic primary and the Nevada Democratic caucuses show two very different races. In South Carolina, former Vice President Joe Biden is miles ahead of everyone. Biden garners 37 percent support compared to Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s 16 percent support. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders pulled 11 percent support, and no other candidate got above 5 percent. But in Nevada, it’s Biden and Sanders neck-and-neck with 22 percent, and Warren at 18% among likely Democratic caucus-goers. No one else received more than 5 percent in Nevada.

Posted on

First House Republican Announces Support For Impeachment Inquiry

GOP Rep. Mark Amodei is first House Republican to support impeachment inquiry

GOP Rep. Mark Amodei is first House Republican to support impeachment inquiry Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) is the first GOP member of Congress to openly support the House’s impeachment inquiry. From the Nevada Independent:

“Let’s put it through the process and see what happens,” Amodei, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, said on a call Friday with reporters, adding that he believes Congress is justified to look into the matter. 

“I’m a big fan of oversight, so let’s let the committees get to work and see where it goes,” he added.  (An audio recording of the call has been posted below.)

“Using government agencies to, if it’s proven, to put your finger on the scale of an election, I don’t think that’s right,” he continued. “If it turns out that it’s something along those lines, then there’s a problem.”

Amodei issued a statement after the call underscoring his support for the process moving forward and dispelling any impression that he currently backs voting to impeach the president.

“In no way, shape, or form, did I indicate support for impeachment,” Amodei said of the call.

Amodei declined to say whether he believes Trump committed an impeachable offense, though he noted that his comments in the call were regrettable.

“If it was my statement and I had the ability to do it over, I would probably phrase it differently,” he said. “I don’t know that it’s a smoking gun.”

Posted on

Nevada & Iowa Will Offer Tele-Caucus Option In 2020

Living in Nevada for 15 years, I’ve been quite vocal about my criticism of the caucus system.

This might help up involvement.

From the AP:

Democrats in the early presidential contest states of Iowa and Nevada will be able to cast their votes over the telephone instead of showing up at their states’ traditional neighborhood caucus meetings next February, according to plans unveiled by the state parties.

The tele-caucus systems, the result of a mandate from the Democratic National Committee, are aimed at opening the local-level political gatherings to more people, especially evening shift-workers and people with disabilities, whom critics of the caucuses have long said are blocked from the process.

The changes are expected to boost voter participation across the board, presenting a new opportunity for the Democratic Party’s 2020 candidates to drive up support in the crucial early voting states.

In the last presidential election cycle, my neighborhood’s caucus was held on a Saturday morning. If you didn’t attend, you didn’t get to weigh in with your choice for Democratic nominee.

If you had to work, too bad. If you had to take care of the kids’ weekend activities, too bad. No other options were available.

Plus, it was a bit of a mad house, and it took over two hours.

And, some campaign supporters can be pretty suppressive. The guy below was at my caucus representing Bernie Sanders in 2016.

He claimed he was there to make sure there weren’t ‘irregularities.’ Instead, he was something of a bully stepping in and interfereing a few times.

Gee, can you imagine why some folks don’t bother to be involved? I really wish we would just have a primary over several days like we do other elections.

Posted on

Nevada: Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Award Electoral Votes To Winner Of Popular Vote

Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak

The Nevada Independent reports that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak has vetoed a bill that would have pledged the Silver State’s six electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote for president.

AB186 proved a divisive one in the Legislature that elicited some of the closest votes in the session. Proponents argued that it would ensure every vote counted equally, while opponents said they feared it would diminish the relevance of Nevada and other small states.

If approved, the bill would have tied Nevada to a compact of states agreeing to pledge their electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, but would only take effect until enough states had joined the compact to eclipse the 270 electoral vote threshold.

So far, 15 states with a total of 189 electoral votes have joined the compact, with Colorado, Delaware and New Mexico approving laws to join the initiative.

While I’m a proud Nevadan, I’m disappointed in Sisolak’s veto.

Posted on

Podcast: Equality Act, Gay Panic Defense Banned, Rocketman Premieres At Cannes

In this week’s podcast: • The Equality Act passes in the House of Representatives • Nevada bans the gay panic defense • An Australian rugby player loses his $4 million contract thanks to homophobic social media posts • FX's groundbreaking series POSE honored at the Peabody Awards • The Elton John ‘musical fantasy biopic’ Rocketman premieres at the Cannes Film Festival All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report

In this week’s podcast:

• The Equality Act passes in the House of Representatives

• Nevada bans the gay panic defense

• An Australian rugby player loses his $4 million contract thanks to homophobic social media posts

• FX’s groundbreaking series POSE honored at the Peabody Awards

• The Elton John ‘musical fantasy biopic’ Rocketman premieres at the Cannes Film Festival

All that and more in this episode of The Randy Report