Applause for Beers at GOP dinner thundering

Presuming the applause meter was accurate at the Clark County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner, then former Sen. Bob Beers will be the next member of the Las Vegas City Council in a few weeks.

The applause for him was noticeably louder than the applause for Planning Commissioner Ric Truesdell, another Republican working the room to earn votes for the Ward 2 nonpartisan seat vacated by District Attorney Steve Wolfson.

Both Beers and Truesdell were working Republicans at The Venetian on Saturday, trying to gin up support among the 500 people attending the GOP Lincoln Day dinner. While it’s a small crowd and many folks there wouldn’t live in Ward 2, they are the kind who will work for a candidate they like, and clearly they liked Beers, a two-term assemblyman and a one-term senator. Or maybe they just knew him better, since he’s a party regular.

Truesdell has the backing, although not the formal endorsement, of Oscar and Carolyn Goodman, two nonpartisans who seem to carry some clout among Las Vegas voters.

Normally, applause might not be a big indicator for the March 20 election, but last year, the polite applause for then Sen. John Ensign showed his vulnerability when contrasted to the enthused applause for Rep. Dean Heller.

A year later, Ensign has resigned and Heller holds his Senate seat.

The party faithful know how to send a message with their hands.