Study: Nevada Dems helped Obama to record vote success

President Barack Obama had reason to be pleased with the performance of Nevada's Democrats in Congress as they supported him well more than on average last year, according to vote studies published this week by Congressional Quarterly.

The studies also indicate that with Congress as partisan as it has ever been, Nevada lawmakers largely stand united with their parties.

CQ each year tallies how presidents fare on Capitol Hill, and to what extent members of Congress can be considered loyalists.

According to the newest breakdown, Obama compiled a record 96.7 percent success rate in 2009 on the votes where he expressed a position, breaking a record set by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.

The three Nevada Democrats supported him more than others, the studies show.

The average among House Democrats for supporting the president on 72 key votes identified by CQ was 90 percent. Rep. Shelley Berkley voted with Obama on 96 percent of the votes while Rep. Dina Titus supported the president on 94 percent of the votes.

The Senate average for Democrats, based on 70 votes, was 92 percent. Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, voted with Obama on 99 percent of them, according to CQ.

On the Republican side, Nevada members were more resistant to Obama.

In the Senate, where the Republican average for votes supporting Obama was 50 percent. Sen. John Ensign voted with Obama just 38 percent of the time.

Among House Republicans, Rep Dean Heller voted with the president 22 percent of the time, while the average for House GOP members was 26 percent.

The vote studies also indicated Nevada lawmakers are party loyalists, more than on average.

When it came to voting in agreement with most members of their party, the average for House Democrats was 91 percent, according to CQ. Berkley voted with fellow Democrats 97 percent of the time, and Titus 95 percent of the time.

In the Senate, Reid voted with fellow Democrats on 96 percent of votes, while the Senate average was 91 percent.

In the GOP, Heller compiled a 91 percent unity rating, whle the average for House Republicans was 87 percent.

Ensign's unity rating was 95 percent, well above the 85 percent average among Senate Republicans.

Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno said he was not certain the differences between the Nevada lawmakers and other members of Congress were statistically significant based on a relatively small number of votes.

"But clearly they are more partisan in voting than their colleagues," he said. "The whole delegation is over 90 percent in partisan voting."