On Sunday, the New York Times reported that Nevadans are uninterested in the special election for the 2nd Congressional District.
The article was framed in the context of the state’s problems of high unemployment and home foreclosures, and from an outsider’s point of view, maybe it seems logical. But here on the ground in Northern Nevada, nothing could be farther from the truth. Many people recognize that the only way to make things better, to get representation in Washington, D.C., that better advocates for the hopes and desires of regular Nevadans, is to vote in this election.
The two mainstream competitors, Democrat Kate Marshall and Republican Mark Amodei, have been battling it out in debates and commercials on television. Many people have been watching closely for minutia of difference between the two well-qualified candidates. Just watch the social media, and anyone can see that many voters are not apathetic.
The early voting numbers also suggest that the Times’ report is painting with too broad a brush. This is Nevada, after all, where saying voters are disinterested is like saying, “It’s not likely to rain today.” But, according to the Washoe County registrar of voters, after two days of voting, 6,980 people have voted, which breaks down to 2,583 Democrats and 3,592 Republicans. That leaves 805 independent voters.
And for Nevada, that shows a high level of interest in an election that would normally—a non-presidential election, off-year, single-race—see poor participation.
In fact, Washoe County Registrar of Voters Dan Burk expressed his surprise in a Reno Gazette-Journal article on Tuesday: “It’s much better than I first thought.”
And now, we want to ask you a slightly rhetorical question: If things are so bad here, how can Nevadans make a change?
There is only one answer. That’s vote. We respect the right not to vote, but really, nothing is going to improve unless changes are made in Washington.
The problem is, for several years now, reasonable reforms have been offered by both of the main political parties, but political fanatics—party animals, as we call them—have stolen our state’s health. Even our own representative, Republican Dean Heller, participated in smothering the state’s aspirations for a quick recovery from the Great Recession. Mark Amodei is cut from the same cloth, not because they were voting in citizens’ best interests, but because they were voting the party line.
Why would any Nevadan want to vote to keep things the way things are? We can very well see what 28 years of Republican occupation of that House seat have done for Nevadans. It’s time for a change. Putting Mark Amodei in that seat, and expecting him to act differently from past occupants like Heller and Jim Gibbons is the very definition of insanity.
If you have any hope for better schools, better employment, less crime and violence, an answer to our state’s housing problems, that change must be made—partisan politics must be undermined in our nation’s capital.
Vote for Kate Marshall. If you don’t want to make a change in our state’s fortunes, just stay home. You’ll get your wish.