Donald Trump has canceled his visit this week to Nevada. But Tim Kaine has been here more than once already. And Hillary Clinton's team has just opened three more offices in the state.
What's it mean?
John L. Smith says Nevada is still very much up for grabs in the presidential election.
Smith, a KNPR commentator, also notes that despite the strong divisions between the GOP and Democrats, at least one local candidate is getting love from both sides of the aisle. He is Eric Johnson, a candidate for judge in Department 20.
And it sounds like another financial scandal with worldwide implications could have ties to Nevada.
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week halted all trades of Neuromoma Ltd., a company based in Tijuana, Mexico, that's worth $35 billion on paper.
"On paper" is the operative word.
John L. Smith:
Ah, gee, you’re making me blush. I’m getting pink-cheeked, stammering and practically speechless.
And I’m not the only one. These days Nevadans across the state suspect they are the object of major affection with all the attention they’re receiving from presidential candidates and their seconds and surrogates.
We’re feeling the love. And in some cases, the hate. And especially the heat that accompanies a major political courtship.
Just last week, Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence came to town and gave a spirited defense of running mate Donald Trump’s Obama-is-the-father-of-ISIS rhetoric. Whether that does more than echo in the bleacher seats of Trump supporters remains unclear.
Secretary Hillary Clinton’s vice presidential pick Tim Kaine has already made multiple stops in Southern Nevada.
That’s a lot of love, er hate … er attention.
Why all the fuss?
The answer is clear. Although it’s prettier to think it’s because we’re beautiful and smart and they really, really like us … mostly we’re being visited so often because Nevada, in credible polls, is considered a swing state in the race. We are, as they say on CNN, “too close to call.”
With a 70,000-plus Democratic vote advantage, you’d think Republicans wouldn’t have much of a chance in a presidential year. But here’s where Trump make-America-angry-again rhetoric has really paid political dividends: Nevada has been extremely slow to emerge from the recession. Construction, one of Southern Nevada’s greatest economic engines, has never really recovered.
On the Democratic side, State Party Director Roberta Lange, in a recent interview, said her troops continue their work statewide -- not just in the heavily Democratic south. The party recently added three new field offices. Meaning: They’ll be fighting for every vote.
And from the look of some surveys, they may need every ballot.
The GOP, meanwhile, appears to be relying more heavily than ever on operatives provided by the candidates themselves. There may be good reason.
Last week Nevada political commentator Jon Ralston first reported that dollars from an upcoming Trump fundraiser in Northern Nevada, for some strange reason, were slated to be headed toward the coffers of the private Political Action Committee controlled by state GOP Chairman Michael McDonald.
After a story went out, changes were made. It was all chalked up to mistake. Now the money will go to the state republican party.
But it’s yet another example of McDonald looking like he’s hustling a buck.
While I’m always willing to stand corrected, I’ll make this prediction: It won’t be the last time you’ll hear McDonald’s name associated with questionable tactics in the coming months.
There’ll be plenty of chances, after all. From now until Election Day, the political courtship of Nevada will continue.
Judicial Race to Watch
At a more local level, here’s a judicial race to watch: It’s not often a candidate for public office receives endorsements from Nevada governors on both sides of the political aisle. But Department 20 District Judge Eric Johnson has landed that plum with the hearty embrace of Republican Governor Brian Sandoval and former Governor and U.S. Senator Richard Bryan.
And why not?
Johnson, you may recall, is the former member of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He spent a long career as a workhorse federal prosecutor, taking on everything from mobsters and gang-bangers to scammers who ripped the Bank of China for hundreds of millions of dollars. He wasn’t a show horse, but he showed plenty of results over the years.
Johnson was appointed to the bench by Sandoval. He’s being challenged in the general election by an energetic newcomer, Anat Levy. She’s a former Paramount Pictures executive director of business and legal affairs. Levy placed second in the June primary.
John L. Smith, commentator