I’ve already covered the national cataclysm and the CD2 debacle. Now let’s take a look at what happened in Nevada.
Three words: It. Was. Ugly.
Silver lining: You can’t bounce back until you’ve hit bottom.
Welcome to rock bottom.
Republicans now have zero representation in Congress (thanks again Flippo-McShane).
Republicans lost every one of the statewide constitutional offices.
Republicans remain in the minority in the State Senate.
And Republicans have been relegated to SUPER-minority status in the State Assembly.
The good news: They saved 15% by switching to Geico.
The path forward starts with an honest assessment of what went right and wrong this election – and then start the rebuilding process.
So let’s roll…
* Note: Figures used below reflect unofficial results at the time of publication.
QUESTION 7
Question 7 was the only real victory for conservatives on Tuesday. But it was a BIG one. It passed with 62% of the vote.
Thanks to Gov. Joe Lombardo, Dave Gibbs, George Harris and an army of grassroots activists, photo ID will now be required to register to vote and cast a ballot in all future elections.
It doesn’t make it harder to vote. It only makes it harder to cheat.
CONGRESSIONAL RACES
I’ve already covered the CD2 debacle in depth. And Dave Flippo should never run for anything in Nevada again.
He also needs to apologize to the Republicans in northern Nevada before he loads up his U-Haul and moves back to Las Vegas.
Republicans in CD2 only had two months to find a worthy replacement for Rep. Mark Amodei this cycle. They now have two years to get it right.
Lots of unqualified, inexperienced gadflies will again jump into the GOP primary, but let’s hope cooler heads can get united behind a credible candidate who isn’t a carpetbagger.
Carrie Buck (CD1) never should have run for Congress. Her campaign and messaging were terrible right out of the gate – and never got better.
I never bought all the DC hype about her chances against the Wicked Witch of the West, Dina Titus. The numbers just aren’t there.
She should have run for Secretary of State.
Marty O’Donnell (CD3) and Cody Whipple (CD4) are great guys and solid candidates. But their messaging was also off.
I don’t know who ran Cody’s campaign, but they really did the man a disservice. He deserved so much better.
The key to CD4 is the urban areas of North Las Vegas.
But in the early days of the campaign, all I ever got from his campaign was press announcements that some obscure, unknown figure in the rural part of the district had endorsed him.
And Lord only knows why Trump endorsed the other three congressional candidates, but not Cody. There must be a back story there.
As for Marty, I love the guy. One of the nicest people you’ll ever meet on the campaign trail. But I never understood his campaign messaging either.
I get it. His background is in music and gaming. Not casino games. Video games.
But I’m sorry, twenty-something gamers playing Grand Theft Auto in their parents’ basement ain’t the targeted demographic. 55+ voters are – and they have no idea what “Halo” is.
And another cringe for me was the piano TV commercial that all the “experts” thought was wonderful.
One of the first things I was taught and warned about when I broke into the political biz was that GOP candidates should never shoot videos around backyard swimming pools.
Why? Because it reinforces the stereotype that Republicans are for rich people, not working stiffs.
Now… how many working stiffs have a grand piano in their living room? I mean it was warm and lovely and all. But the optics for the blue-collar voters he needed was way off.
I hope Cody and Marty stay involved. I really like both of them. But they need better advisers.
And with that said, I’ll conclude this section with something I’ve been saying for years:
If Republicans can’t win CD3, they sure as heck can’t win CD1 and CD4.
So instead of dividing time, money, and resources among all three districts again in 2028, recruit one A-List candidate for CD3, load up on him or her, win it…
And THEN go after the others in future elections.
STATEWIDE RACES
Republicans lost all six of the statewide races for constitutional offices: Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, and Controller.
The most devastating loss was Gov. Joe Lombardo. A decent, competent chief executive who was blocked from “getting sh*t done” by an obstinate Democrat-controlled Legislature.
Only his veto pen – which he was forced to use at an historic level – kept Nevada from drifting leftward to the failed policies of California.
Now the floodgates of bad ideas, policies, and legislation from the Land of Fruits & Nuts will be opened in Carson City – and there’s no one in the Governor’s Mansion to stop them.
While the national political environment precluded any GOP candidates from winning any of the other races, two things to take a look at.
1.) Andy Matthews (Controller) and Adriana Guzman Fralick (AG) were high-quality candidates. I hope both remain on the political playing field.
2.) On the other hand, Jim Marchant (SOS) and Drew Johnson (Treasurer) were terrible candidates. They’ve each now lost three consecutive races in a row. They need to go away and find something else to do with their lives.
3.) Stavros Anthony (LG) is one of the nicest, most personable politicians you’ll ever want to meet.
But he was reportedly knee-capped and stabbed in the back by Drew Johnson’s wife – who worked for him briefly in the LG’s office – which his opponent effectively used against him.
Not sure what lies in his political future – if anything at all. But I hope he stays involved and engaged.
That’s it for today. Will get to the State Assembly and State Senate races tomorrow. Don’t touch that dial!
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com. You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com. His views are his own.