Nevadans declare independence

Hispanics are a growing political force in Nevada.

Never underestimate the power of the unions to deliver the Democratic vote by "touching" all of the 200,000 members in the state with phone calls, mailers and door-to-door visits.

And remember that independent-minded Nevadans in this swing state don't always vote along party lines and will, say, give the Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Harry Reid another six years in office while also overwhelmingly voting in a GOP governor, who happens to be the first Latino state leader.

Those were some of the lessons of the 2010 election that made history and, in the end, exhausted both candidates and voters, who by Tuesday night were ready to throw in the towel and cry, "No mas!"

"Nevada has got to learn that every vote is important, every single race has got to be treated with the same amount of respect," said Mark Peplowski, political science professor at the College of Southern Nevada. "Here, you don't have any single polarizing sweep putting in one party over the other."

Nationally, the Republicans took back the House of Representatives, but didn't have enough wind in their sails to overtake Democrats in the Senate. That left Reid in charge as majority leader after he beat GOP challenger Sharron Angle, 50 percent to 45 percent.

Reid had a good day Tuesday, but other top ticket Democrats in key races didn't fare so well.

His son, Rory Reid, lost 42 percent to 53 percent to Republican Brian Sandoval, the incoming governor.

And Rep. Dina Titus, a freshman swept into office in 2008 on the coattails of President Barack Obama, lost a whisker-close race to her GOP challenger Joe Heck.

"Harry wins and Rory loses. Harry wins, Dina loses. Go figure," Peplowski said. "With Nevada voters, you've got to go out there and you've got to fight to get them."

Robert Uithoven, a GOP operative, agreed, noting that the state Republican Party is far from united and far less organized than the Democratic Party, which Reid rebuilt and essentially runs.

"This election is a good reminder that Nevada voters in growing numbers are ticket splinters," Uithoven said. "They don't always vote Republican all the way down the ballot or Democrat all the way down the ballot. So candidates are going to run their campaigns more independently."

One example from Tuesday: about 15 percent of Sandoval voters also cast their ballots for Sen. Reid, according to the CNN exit poll of 3,796 Nevadans. Another 81 percent who picked the new GOP governor also voted for Angle, while the remaining 4 percent picked others or none.

Here's a closer look at some of the election lessons, according to exit polls and experts.

Hispanics

They were a decisive factor in Obama's 2008 victory, making up 15 percent of the Nevada vote two years ago. They accounted for 15 percent again on Tuesday to help put Reid over the top, according to the CNN exit poll -- although Reid said it might have been as high as 17 percent. Latinos make up 12 percent of registered voters here, and during the June 8 primary only half of them filled out ballots.

Reid has been courting Latinos for years and promising comprehensive immigration reform.

"People, in fact, made fun of me, saying 'Why are you wasting your time with a group that doesn't register, and if they register don't vote?' " Reid said Wednesday at a post-election news conference. "Well, we proved that wrong in 2008, and we certainly proved that wrong last night."

"Democrats have been there every step of the way" for Latinos, Reid added. "That is why I have the support of the Hispanic community here, because I have not taken them for granted."

The CNN exit poll showed Reid captured 68 percent of the Hispanic vote compared with 30 percent for Angle, who angered the community by airing anti-illegal immigration ads with images of Latinos who looked like thugs.

Fernando Romero, head of Hispanics in Politics, said the expanding community also helped elect eight Hispanic Democratic lawmakers to the Nevada Legislature.

"Senator Reid has always been there for us, and we did what we had to do to get him re-elected," Romero said after Reid's news conference at Vdara hotel-casino on The Strip.

Latinos didn't promote Sandoval despite his heritage because of his conservative views, including support for an Arizona law that gives police more authority to arrest illegal immigrants.

Sandoval won 33 percent of the Hispanic vote compared with 64 percent for Rory Reid, the Clark County commissioner and Democrat who speaks fluent Spanish and courted the community.

Unions

From the powerful Culinary to the deep-pocketed AFL-CIO, labor was all in for Sen. Reid and worked tirelessly to ensure every supporter got to the polls by bus, van or constant reminding.

According to the CNN exit poll, Reid won 67 percent of the vote of people with a union member in their household compared with 29 percent for Angle.

"We think we did our job," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Wednesday during a post-election event sponsored by the Washington D.C.-based National Journal.

The AFL-CIO focused most of its resources on urging its members to support candidates such as Reid through phone calls, direct mail and leaflets. Trumka estimated each member probably was "touched" or contacted 15 to 20 times through this campaign.

The end game and polls

Reid had a tough time beating Angle mostly because voters were upset with the direction of the country and the economy, with Nevada suffering the most with a record high 14.4 percent jobless rate.

The CNN exit poll showed that two-thirds of voters said the economy was the most important issue, and 64 percent said the nation was on the wrong track.

Angle blamed Reid, and for the longest time voters seemed to be siding with the challenger. For example, Angle led Reid 53-45 among the 70 percent of voters who had made up their minds before last month on who they would vote for, according to the CNN exit poll.

But Reid did much better with late deciders as he campaigned hard in October to swing people to his side, including by bringing to the state Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and former President Bill Clinton, among other Democratic leaders.

Voters who decided in the last month broke 75-21 for Reid over Angle, including those who made their choice in last three days, breaking 41-30 percent for the incumbent, the CNN exit poll showed.

At the same time, several public polls showed Angle edging out Reid, 49-45, or just within the margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, suggesting she had the momentum. They included a Mason-Dixon survey for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow.

The Reid campaign has long insisted its own polls showed him consistently ahead, partly because the surveys reached a broader group of people by calling cell phones and not just land lines.

As well, the Reid campaign said that in the end all the polls were meaningless because its get-out-the-vote machine would deliver more than would the un-disciplined enthusiasm for Angle.

Reid, on Wednesday, showed frustration with the public surveys.

"I've been wanting to say this for some time," he told reporters. "We've got to do something about these misleading polls. They are all over the country, they are so unfair, and you just gobble them up -- no matter where they come from. You just run with them as if they are the finest piece of pastry in the world. They are false and misleading, and people pay for those polls, so you use them."

Good night

Reid had stayed up all night following his victory, making calls to chat with Obama, Democratic senators, the Gov.-elect Sandoval as well as his tough challenger Angle.

"We did not know each other very well," Reid said of Angle, adding they had a "very nice conversation" in which she was gracious. "I have great respect for her and for her family situation. Her husband was always with her, and he has been very supportive of her."

At nearly 71, Reid clearly was relieved yet worn out by the election and its aftermath.

"I haven't been to bed yet," he joked as he stood among two dozen supporters and told them he had done a round of morning TV talk shows at 4 a.m. "I don't know if it's morning or night."

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.