Nevada playbook: Harry Reid's Democrats won big here in 2016 -- and it can be done in other states

[DonViejo]

The Nevada playbook: Harry Reid’s Democrats won big here in 2016 — and it can be done in other states

Democrats racked up huge losses in swing states in 2016. Not in Nevada. What are Nevada Democrats doing right?

AMANDA MARCOTTE

The election of 2016 was a devastating one for Democrats, and not just because Hillary Clinton, seen as a sure winner, lost in squeaker to Donald Trump, a man whose only true professional success up until then had been from playing a villain on a reality-TV show.

All the way down the ballot, Democrats took a beating. While pre-election polling suggested Democrats would be able to flip seven Senate seats held by Republicans, for instance, once the votes were counted, Republicans won five out of the seven contests.

But there was one state, typically considered a swing state, where Democrats did exceptionally well: Nevada.

While Clinton was being handed losses in states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, which typically swing left in presidential election years, she won Nevada by 2.4 percentage points. In the Nevada Senate race, Republican Joe Heck was leading in the polls over Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto for much of September and October, but Cortez Masto swiftly gained momentum over the second half of October and won on November 8.

Democrats also picked up a seat in the House of Representatives, when Ruben Kihuen ousted Republican incumbent Cresent Hardy. In the state assembly, at least five Republican incumbents lost their seats to Democratic challengers.

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http://www.salon.com/2017/02/01/the-nevada-playbook-harry-reids-democrats-won-big-here-in-2016-and-it-can-be-done-in-other-states/

[Leith]

1. That Was My One Bright Spot in the Election

I kind of had the idea that Putin, the hackers, or whoever, thought that Nevada was too small to fuck with. They were concentrating on the big states of PA, MI, and OH, among others. If that was the case, they won't make that mistake again.

Nevada voted as a swing state should have.