Election Liveblog #2: Bob Beers Wins Las Vegas Ward 2 Special (Updated)

OK, so we had the Illinois G-O-TEA train wreck covered. Now it's time to come back to Nevada and see what's happening in our own backyard. Here are the first results for Las Vegas Ward 2.

Precincts Reporting: 0 of 49 (0.00 %)

Candidate Graph Votes %/Total
Beers, Bob 942 36.29 %
Boyers, Roberta 46 1.77 %
Chinn, Bob 313 12.06 %
Gale, Bruce L. 37 1.43 %
Holmes, Sherese 27 1.04 %
Kuzemka, Kristine 340 13.10 %
Raja, F. 28 1.08 %
Ruggiero, Anthony 272 10.48 %
Truesdell, Ric 591 22.77 %
Total 2,596

As most pundits expected, Bob Beers has an early lead. His name recognition most certainly got him there... But will his lead remain this strong all night? We'll have to wait and see.

7:30 PM-

The R-J now has an article up on the early Ward 2 special election results. They interviewed some Las Vegas voters, and apparently found a mix of anti-Goodman sentiment, pro-Goodman sentiment... And even one voter for Kristine Kuzemka.

Whatever happens tonight, it will probably be used by the media as some sort of barometer measuring Mayor Carolyn Goodmans' hold on city hall and influence over city politics. If Bob Beers indeed wins, or if the results change dramatically in the coming hours to reveal some kind of stunning upset by one of "the underdogs", I'm sure at least a few local pundits will start to ask if perhaps Las Vegas is tiring of "government by celebrity glamour".

8:10 PM-

Was this Ric Truesdell's undoing? (Start at 14:00 on the video below.)



Jon Ralston seems to think so.

Team @bobbeers feels confident they won Election Day, too. If so, @RicTruesdellLV spent a fortune to get blown out. Results soon, I'd think.

And I am wondering if perhaps Truesdell's ethics tit-for-tat with Beers indeed dragged him down in the final days. I guess we'll just have to wait for the actual election day numbers to know for sure. I'll just say now that I won't be surprised if it turned out to be a factor.

However, the bigger factors in this election may have ultimately been Carolyn and Oscar. The former Mayor never seemed to handle criticism of his beloved Mob Museum well, and the current Mayor has been feeling the heat lately over that and the new Las Vegas City Hall.



Despite their delicate dance suggesting there was no actual endorsement, it was hard to actually deny that Ric Truesdell was indeed "The Good(man) Candidate". Most pundits had originally thought it would benefit him, and perhaps it did in raising his profile in Ward 2. However, that could have also led to blowback as angry voters found a way to take out their frustration over continued problems with local government, which would mainly be the favoring of certain pet projects over investing in necessary infrastructure to take care of the entire city. After all, how can one justify a city backed "mob museum" when roads have potholes, parks are closed, and police and fire protection have been cut back?

It still strikes me as bizarre that voters would send a "tea party" backed flame thrower to city hall, but then again weird things often happen in special elections.

Oh, and by the way, Bob Beers officially wins. Oh gawd, here he comes...