Juego Cambio

Yes, I know we've been talking quite a bit sobre El Voto Latino. But really, there's no way to overstate la importancia de la comunidad. And starting today, we will be seeing more evidence of Latino turnout.

Political pundits, campaign organizers and national magazines have declared 2012 the year of the Hispanic voter. Voter registration numbers and enthusiasm is up, and now all of those who invested in the wake-up call for this once-dormant demographic want to make sure it does not hit the snooze button on Election Day.

“I worked registering voters in 2008 and 2010, and I’ve seen a lot of enthusiasm this year,” [Izack] Tenorio [of Mi Familia Vota] said. “There are a lot of groups on the ground in Nevada encouraging Hispanics to get involved, and I’ve seen whole families come into our offices to all register together. I think people are starting to embrace their role and the choice they can participate in. Now, we just have to make sure they take that final step of getting to the polls.”

Mi Familia Vota came into this election cycle with the goal of registering 11,000 voters in Nevada. A few months in, the organization met that benchmark and set another one. That one was broken, too. More than 19,000 voters, the vast majority of them Hispanics, were registered, said Leo Murrieta, state director for Mi Familia Vota.

In a nationwide poll, Latino Decisions found that 8 percent of Hispanic voters had voted early as of Oct. 29 and 87 percent of Hispanic voters said they were “almost certain” to vote. Also, 45 percent of the demographic said they were more excited to vote this year than in 2008, when 84 percent of registered Hispanics voted. Notably, the percentage of Hispanics who said they were certain to vote and more enthusiastic than in 2008 have both increased in the weeks leading up to the election.

Many more Latino voters have been registered this year. But now, the real test comes. How many will vote?

Some already have. But as I hinted on Monday, we'll see a real "game change" moment today when more early voting sites open in Latin@ heavy East Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. For these final three days of early voting, the Clark County Election Department will be covering these neighborhoods much more thoroughly than we've seen for the previous 11 days.

So now, it truly is all about turnout. And since early voting is often the best (and sometimes the ONLY) way to get people to vote, these next 60 hours will be critical. And it may all come down to how crowded the Cardenas Market at Lamb & Bonanza becomes today (and tomorrow and Friday).

Astroturf Follies in Politics

When I first heard that AFP was playing some more in Nevada Legislature races, I wasn't expecting this. I must admit, this was quite the interesting surprise. At first glance, this doesn't seem like much.



After all, this is the same anti-Obama/anti-Shelley Berkley doorhanger that we found in Henderson over two weeks ago. However, there was something different about this AFP doorhanger.

But before I make the big reveal, I must note something. This doorhanger was found in NV-03 and State Senate District 9 in the Southwest Vegas Valley. Just keep that in mind as I show you the back of this doorhanger.

So are you ready for the big reveal? Well, here it is. Ta da!



Again, remember that this was found in NV-03 and SD 9. Yet for some reason, this doorhanger attacks Steven Horsford (the Democrat running in NV-04) and Benny Yerushalmi (the Democrat running in SD 6)! For some reason, AFP dropped the wrong doorhanger in the wrong area.

Perhaps we really shouldn't be surprised by this. After all, we're talking about the same "charitable foundation" behind #BusWreck2012. And we're talking about the same organization that was hawking cheap gas in hopes of swaying the election. And we're talking about the same organization that's likely been violating state election law in hopes of electing state lawmakers it favors.

Can you detect a pattern here? I can. And I suspect it's one that the Nevada G-O-TEA won't like too much come next week. It's one thing to be shady... But shady and incompetent is quite the unique blend that I've never really seen before (until now).

Report on Hurricane Sandy

It's hard to ignore what's happening back east. Sandy hit. And Sandy wasn't kind.

Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph winds Monday night and hurled an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City, flooding its tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street. At least 16 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm, which brought the presidential campaign to a halt a week before Election Day.

For New York City at least, Sandy was not the dayslong onslaught many had feared, and the wind and rain that sent water sloshing into Manhattan from three sides began dying down within hours.

Still, the power was out for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and an estimated 6.2 million people altogether across the East. The full extent of the storm's damage across the region was unclear, and unlikely to be known until daybreak.

Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday — the first time the New York Stock Exchange will be closed for two consecutive days due to weather since 1888, when a blizzard struck the city.

Heavy rain and further flooding remain major threats for the next couple of days as the storm makes its way into Pennsylvania and up into New York State. The center of the storm was just outside Philadelphia near midnight, and its winds were down to 75 mph, just barely hurricane strength.

Salon has more photos of the extensive damage in New York and New Jersey. At least 17 people have died due to storm related causes. And many millions across the East Coast are still without electric power.

If you would like to help recovery efforts in the East Coast, The American Red Cross needs it.

Just thinking of friends here who have family back there, I've been at least a little scared. I can hardly even think of those who must worry about loved ones stranded in affected areas. They will certainly be in our thoughts and prayers today.

La Importancia del Voto Latino

I know we've been constantly discussing the importance of Latino voters in deciding this election, but I just can't stress enough how critical they will be... And really, already are. Today, we're given another reminder courtesy of Latino Decisions.

Overall, Obama has the support of 73% of all Latino registered voters, compared to 21% who favor Romney. The 52-point gap matches the largest gap among Latinos this year, also found in the October 1 tracking poll.

For the ten weeks the impreMedia-Latino Decisions poll has been taken the most important issue for Latinos consistently has been the economy and the latest release revealed that Romney and the Republican party have been unable to convince Latino voters that they will be better at improving the it. Seventy-three percent of Latino voters trust Obama and the Democrats to make the right decisions to improve the economy compared to only 18% that trust Romney and the Republicans.

“The poll shows that this year we can anticipate record participation among Latino voters,” said Monica Lozano, CEO of impreMedia “It looks like the “Sleeping Giant” has woken up.”

Over the past weeks the number of Latinos who say they are certain to vote has gone from 81% to 84% and now 87%. At the same time, the percent who say they are more enthusiastic in 2012 has grown from 36% to 40% and now 45%. The percent who describe themselves as “very enthusiastic” has gone from 51% to 56% to 59% in the last three weeks.

And apparently, 8% of Latino voters nationwide have already voted early. Expect that number to rise this week, especially here in Nevada once more temporary early voting sites open in heavily Latino neighborhoods in East Las Vegas and North Las Vegas (starting Wednesday).

So why is this happening? Well, remember what we discussed in February...

Look at how far Willard Romney has gone. He's been endorsed by the extreme right Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), the guy perhaps most responsible for Arizona's and Alabama's extreme anti-immigrant statutes as well as someone with well documented ties to white supremacist groups. [...]

Mittens not only opposes comprehensive immigration reform, but he also virulently opposes the DREAM Act, and he's been confronted by Latin@ students over it. And if that weren't bad enough, Romney's economic policies would also hurt Latino families if enacted by stripping away their health care, taking away opportunities to attend college, and destroying Social Security. Oh, and he also has long standing ties to Former California Governor Pete Wilson (R), the guy who ran on the extreme anti-immigrant Prop 187 and ultimately killed whatever chances California Republicans had of ever winning the Latino vote again.

And no matter how much Mitt Romney keeps trying to spin his own record away, the vast majority of Latino voters refuse to forget. This keeps coming back to bite Romney where it hurts the most.

This also has to be scaring Dean Heller. After all, his poll numbers among Latino voters here in Nevada have been falling along with Romney's. And his now infamous comments on immigration reform at the last NV-Sen debate continue to haunt him.

Nevada truly is a dynamic state. One aspect of our state that continues to change fairly rapidly is our demographics. It provided an unexpected twist (to the East Coast based media pundits) to our US Senate race in 2010. And it may yet doom Nevada Republicans again in 2012.

Second Weekend of Early Voting Breakdown (& Forecast for the Final Days)

Yesterday, early voting slowed down in Clark and Washoe Counties. In Clark County, the Democratic turnout advantage ticked down a bit to 16% (49-33). But in Washoe County, Democrats' turnout advantage actually ticked up to 2.5% (42.6-40.1). So far, Democrats have likely extended their raw early vote turnout lead to at least 30,000 statewide.

Here's what Bloomberg had to say about the general early voting trend here.

In two of the most competitive states in the U.S. presidential race -- Iowa and Nevada --Democrats are building a significant advantage in early voting. [...]

Thus far in Nevada, where an even larger proportion of the vote has been cast than in Iowa when compared to the 2008 vote, Democrats have accounted for 45.4 percent, according to the Nevada secretary of state’s office. Republicans have accounted for 37.2 percent and independent voters for 17.4 percent.

Heavily Democratic Clark County, Nevada’s most populous and where Las Vegas is located, has seen people registered with the president’s party cast 121,298 early and absentee ballots, compared to 81,512 for Republicans, through Oct. 27.

And their figures don't include yesterday's early vote totals. And in regards to the early vote totals here in Clark County, I have a theory as to why Democratic turnout was off a bit yesterday... And may remain lower today and tomorrow. Basically, look at where the early voting is happening. Yesterday, early voting started in Sun City Anthem. And for the next two days, there will be temporary early voting sites there and at Sun City Summerlin, Boulder City, and Mesquite. So long story short, Republican turnout is probably strengthening slightly because early voting is happening in Republican strongholds.

However, starting Wednesday we'll see temporary early voting sites shift more to East Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. So as long as Democrats turn out their voters there (in what are the big Democratic strongholds in the Las Vegas Valley), Democrats can still close the week, and early voting, quite well. We'll just have to wait and see exactly what happens this week.

Scenes from the Campaign Trail in NV-03

Late last night, we saw another Clark County update on early voting turnout here. Countywide, Democrats now have a 17.70% turnout advantage. In NV-03, Democrats have a 4.79% turnout advantage as of last night. In the Clark County portion of NV-04, Democrats so far have a 22.13% turnout advantage. And in the key State Debate Districts 5, 6, 9, and 18 which will determine control of the Nevada Legislature next year, Democrats so far have turnout advantages of 7.99% (SD 5), 10.83% (SD 6), 8.01% (SD 9), and 1.02% (SD 18). Overall and in most parts of Clark County, Democratic turnout continues to overperform voter registration.

So how is this happening? As we discussed last Sunday, it's all about the field now. We saw this on display again yesterday when local Sierra Club volunteers knocked doors in the Green Valley (aka SD 5) neighborhoods of NV-03 with John Oceguera. Everyone took part in turning out more Democrats to vote early...







And afterward, the candidate himself joined some volunteers in making "Get Out the Vote" (GOTV) phone calls!

And that's not all. Throughout last week, the local Nevada Democratic "Super Organizer" and local volunteers also canvassed the expansive and just recently developed Southwest part of the valley (aka SD 9). Since there were not as many early voting sites in the Southwest Vegas Valley as in other parts of the valley during the first week of early voting, it was imperative to reach these neighborhoods and turn out as many Democratic voters as possible.

And yes, John Oceguera himself also stopped by last Sunday to walk here himself. He's certainly taking his campaigning seriously.







There's clearly been plenty of work done by Nevada Democrats in the past week. But in the end, they're hoping all this work will be rewarded in President Obama and Shelley Berkley winning, along with the local Congressional and Legislature candidates. And so far, it looks like Nevada Democrats are laying the groundwork for just that. We'll just have to wait and see how Week 2 of early voting continues.

Senator Reid in Car Crash... But "He's OK" Now.

I just found out about this while I was out.

U.S. Sen. Harry Reid was taken to University Medical Center Trauma as a precaution early Friday afternoon after his motorcade was involved in a multivehicle accident on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas.

A source close to Reid's family said, "He's OK." The senator apparently had no visible injuries but was transported by a staff member to the hospital as a matter of caution.

Karen Gordon, a spokeswoman for UMC, said the condition report on Reid was "good."

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremie Elliott said the accident occurred about 1:10 p.m. in the northbound lanes of I-15, north of Sahara Avenue.

Trooper Loy Hixson said five vehicles were involved in the accident: two vehicles carrying Reid and members of his party; two Metro Police vehicles; and one civilian vehicle.

Well, at least it looks like he'll survive and be all right in the end. But my goodness, what a scare!

And wow, the Reid family has been through so much lately. About two years ago, Landra and their daughter were in a car crash in DC. And Landra has recently survived breast cancer. They truly have been through so much lately.

And the Reids are definitely still in our thoughts and prayers today.

Some Quick Math

Earlier this morning, Ralston posted this update on early voting.

The Democrats extended their lead in Clark County to about 36,000 voters over the Republicans with another solid day and another day where 30,000-plus voters turned out. It now seems reasonable to assume the lead will be 40,000 or so after one week.

With a week to go, that would put the Democrats about halfway to the lead they had in 2008 --83,000. I don't think they will get there, but they don't have to. Obama won the state by 12 points (Clark by 19) with that lead. All he needs to do is be in double digits in Clark, and he will win Nevada unless there is a landslide in Washoe, which does not appear to be happening (there were no numbers posted for Washoe as I write this).

The latest Clark numbers (mail and early votes):

Democrats -- 105,674, or 50 percent

Republicans -- 69,512, or 33 percent

Others -- 37, 264, or 17 percent

And he just tweeted this.

Washoe numbers posted. Dems won Thursday by 36 votes out of 8,300-plus cast. So Republicans not doing much to get lead in swing county.

This is not where Republicans want to be as the first week of early voting wraps up. Even though Republicans have caught up a little since Sunday, they're still underperforming voter registration overall in both major population centers in the state.

The Secretary of State's early voting report was released yesterday before the Clark and Washoe numbers are updated. But since it looks like the dynamics weren't changed too much last night, I'll use these figures for now. As of yesterday afternoon, 46% of Nevada voters who have already turned out are Democrats, while 37% are Republicans and 17% are Nonpartisans or of minor parties.

Now, let's play this scenario. Since most polls show the two major party bases consolidated, I'll give 90% of the Democrats to Obama and 90% of the Republicans to Romney. This means that most likely, Romney is getting at least 33.3% of the vote while Obama is getting 41.4%. And what about the remaining 25.3%? If he isn't winning over at least 66.01% of the Nonpartisans and "soft" partisans (aka the remaining 25.3%), then he's losing the early vote right now. And he's probably losing the early vote quite badly.

(If we're "fair" and split Nonpartisans about evenly, Obama is leading by at least high single digits right now among the early votes already cast.)

So far, the "Team Nevada" Republicans have been spinning to the media that they're really not doing all that badly. Hogwash. If they weren't, the numbers wouldn't look like this.

So at this point, all Republicans can do is push more of their voters to turn out... And hope Democratic turnout falls off. Because if the trajectory stays as is, then expect to see plenty of cheerful Blue come the night of November 6.

12:15 PM UPDATE: Well, it turns out I was right in my earlier call. Here's Ralston with the latest.

Statewide NV numbers updated: Dems leading in early vote and mail. Have 26K vote statewide. 46% to 37%. Huge turnout. Um, about that call...

So we're officially ending Week 1 with a 9% Democratic turnout advantage statewide. This is why Mitt Romney operatives and Nevada Republican consultants are so nervous now. As long as the trajectory holds in Week 2, the trend isn't looking good for them.

NV-04: A Surprising Turn

Earlier this year, Jim Rogers surprised many with his endorsement of Danny Tarkanian. Many kept asking why someone who's cared so much and done so much for public education would endorse someone who really doesn't care about our schools. Well, I guess this was a relationship that was doomed to fail. Last week, Rogers wrote this.

With one statement, Danny Tarkanian removed himself from the group of politicians I will support in the upcoming election. Tarkanian, in a debate with Horsford, said he didn’t believe higher education should be a right. He said new provisions to subsidize college education would not be wise because of the economic problems facing the country. This is an outrageously ignorant statement. Only higher education has the ability to prepare our citizens to make the American economy recover. Tarkanian’s views would continue to spiral the downward plunge of the American economy.

Indeed, Baby Tark actually did say that. And he's reiterated his support for the "Balanced Budget Amendment", which is less about actually balancing the federal budget and more about defunding public education while also gutting Medicare & Social Security to death. Perhaps this weighed on Rogers' decision (redo) as well.

Oh, and there was also this.

Jim Rogers, the mercurial television station owner and former head of the Nevada System of Higher Education, has changed horses in the Congressional District 4 race.

Once a blistering critic of Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas, he now said in an interview he is supporting him over Republican Danny Tarkanian.

“Of the two, he’s the better candidate,” he said. “I still have problems with Steven. But, you know, those are more irritating than substantive.”

He sent a letter to Horsford on Thursday saying he would not support Tarkanian because “my enthusiasm for his candidacy has waned” as he learned about Tarkanian’s “understanding of the critical issues facing Nevada.”

Rogers also said Horsford committed to bringing a “full service medical school” to Southern Nevada.

“I am also pleased by your written commitment to me to bring expanded health and medical services through a new complex to be built in Southern Nevada which will be anchored by a full-service medical school,” Rogers said.

You know, it helps to work with someone who actually wants a working government. Steven Horsford gets that. And it finally dawned on Rogers earlier this month that Horsford gets that... And Tarkanian does not.

That's really the story of this NV-04 race full of crazy twists and turns. One candidate actually understands the office he's now running for, while the other simply does not.

NV-03: Surprise @ the KSNV Studio

Probably as I'm writing this, the final NV-03 debate may be starting to wrap up. (It will air later tonight on KSNV 3.) This time, Jon Ralston is hosting. And it's probably no holds barred.

Outside the KSNV studio near Downtown Las Vegas, this is how Joe Heck was "greeted".



A group of Nevada Democrats rallied outside the studio. I guess they just wanted to give Heck a little reminder of what's coming his way.

Perhaps this is why John Oceguera was much happier when he saw the activists.





Oceguera was quite happy to see supporters cheering him in. And actually, he may not have even known they were coming. So it turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

I guess this qualifies as one of the lighter moments on the campaign trail. Every once in a while, it's OK to let loose for a spell. And it's OK to rally outside a TV studio.

Mr. President's (Brief) Return to Vegas

It was a "one night only" special event... At least for now. He came to lift spirits and stir the crowd to action. And wow, what a show he put on.

8 News NOW

Supporters cheered on President Barack Obama during his speech at Doolittle Park in Las Vegas Wednesday night, where he spoke to an estimated 13,000 people, according to fire officials.

Obama landed at McCarran International Airport a little after 9 p.m. Before his arrival, Rep. Shelley Berkley and state Sen. Steven Horsford spoke to the crowd, followed by pop star Katy Perry who then performed a few songs.

During the speech, Obama talked about his tax plan and challenged Mitt Romney's own plan.

"Unlike Mitt Romney, I'm willing to talk about what's in my plan," Obama said.

He also reached out to minority groups, saying "No matter where you come from, or who you love, you can make it in America."

With early voting continuing and polls all over the place, President Obama was aiming to simply excite Democrats into voting. And for the ones who have already voted, he urged them to help him get out the vote. So far, Democrats have had quite a bit of success with that. But with Republicans spending big to catch up, President Obama wants to make sure Nevada Democrats don't let up.

Tomorrow, First Lady Michelle Obama is scheduled to return to Las Vegas. And expect even more surprises next week. With so much at stake here in Nevada for both the President and Congress, everyone will continue fighting to the finish.

Why Is AFP Playing in #NVLeg?

Last time we checked in on AFP Nevada, they were leaving bizarre looking doorhangers in neighborhoods across Southern Nevada and planning some "Freedom Day" get out the vote rally for Republicans "concert" on the first day of early voting. And so far, it looks like the Kochs' pet "charity" won't be letting up any time soon. In fact, they may be flooding your mailbox right now.

A mailer sent to voters in southwestern Las Vegas’ Senate District 9 implies candidate Justin Jones would side with “Carson City politicians” who raise taxes and “spend your money.”

And in a particularly inciting mailer attacking former state Sen. Sheila Leslie in Reno’s Senate District 15, Americans for Prosperity superimposed Leslie’s head on the bodies of scantily clad fire dancers to criticize her for supporting a bill to regulate the artists.

Neither of the mailers explicitly says to vote against the candidate — or for their opponents —a technicality that would allow such political advertising in federal races without disclosure of who funded the group creating the ad.

But Nevada’s campaign finance laws require political organizations to register and disclose their donors if they produce advertising that can reasonably be interpreted as seeking to influence a specific campaign, according to Secretary of State Ross Miller.

Americans for Prosperity sent similar mailers attacking Democratic Assemblyman Kelvin Atkinson in his primary campaign for Senate District 4. Those mailers prompted a complaint from the Nevada Democratic Party.

Earlier this month, Miller notified the nonprofit that he believes the mailers violated Nevada’s campaign finance laws and referred the case to the Attorney General’s Office for prosecution.

Back in July, we noted the incredibly bizarre case of AFP wading into the SD 4 DEMOCRATIC Primary in hopes of defeating Kelvin Atkinson. We still don't know exactly why AFP decided to play there, but it is increasingly clear that AFP has been sending out "informational literature" with the intent of influencing elections. And that may not be legal here in Nevada, at least when it comes to our State Legislature races.

Perhaps the SD 4 incident was just a "test run" meant to prepare AFP for what they're doing now. The doorhanger we found earlier this month attacked President Obama and Shelley Berkley on one side, then attacked John Oceguera and Joyce Woodhouse (the Democratic nominee for SD 5) on the other side. And now, AFP mailers are being caught attacking Justin Jones (the Democratic nominee in SD 9) and Sheila Leslie (the Democratic nominee in SD 15). It just looks too funny that, all of a.sudden, AFP is playing in the very State Senate seats that Republicans must win in order to take control of the Nevada Senate. And we're still supposed to believe that AFP is some sort of "nonpartisan, educational, charitable foundation"? Yeah, right.

It's now looking quite clear as to what AFP Nevada is aiming to do. And no, it doesn't involve "charity" or "education". Rather, AFP is trying to tip several competitive federal and state level races into Republican hands. Yet in failing to file the appropriate paperwork as a political action committee (PAC) and disclose its donors, AFP may actually be violating state election law while trying to elect lawmakers! Surely, we can't be the only ones seeing the irony here?

So Why Is This in Court? (Because They Don't Want the Voters to Decide?)

So far, "The Education Initiative" has experienced quite the political and legal roller coaster ride this year. And it isn't about to get any smoother. A district court judge in Carson City has just made sure to that.

The Nevada State Education Association and the Nevada State AFL-CIO are in the process of collecting the 72,352 signatures required for their Education Initiative, which proposes to impose a 2 percent margin tax on Nevada businesses with more than $1 million in total revenue.

The tax would raise approximately $800 million annually in new funding for the state's K-12 public schools, the labor unions said.

However, challenging the unions is the Committee to Protect Nevada Jobs, a political action committee that argues the margin tax would hurt businesses. The pro-business PAC filed a complaint seeking injunctive relief and requested that a judge declare the petition invalid on several grounds.

In his ruling Tuesday, Judge James Wilson Jr. agreed with many of the business PAC's arguments, saying the language used to describe the tax's effect to voters was "incomplete, deceptive, misleading, and therefore, invalidates the petition."

NSEA & AFL-CIO are already planning to appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, so this dramatic tale is still far from over. It's just amazing how far certain corporate interests will go to silence people's voices. Seriously, do you think they'd be suing like this if they didn't think it was popular?

And as we discussed in June, it's becoming comical to watch "Tea Party, Inc." argue against this initiative simply because it follows the very rule that they have used to kill past tax reform initiatives in court. Basically, they're trying to turn the single subject rule into a constant "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation that kills a tax reform initiative either way! How is this fair at all?

Again, this ruling will be appealed. And the Nevada Supreme Court will have to give some thought about how NSEA & the AFL-CIO have bent over backwards to follow the letter of the law on this... Only to be slapped with a law suit by a group that was formed solely for the purpose of defeating this initiative. Is there truly a legal motivation for this law suit? Or is this just a surreptitious and at least somewhat deceptive effort to put the brakes on a progressive tax reform effort that just might pass (and pass handily) if given to voters?

Mitt Romney's Welcome Back to Southern Nevada

As we had discussed earlier, Mitt Romney is here.





And just before he arrived, there were some special people ready to greet him.







For the most part, things remained calm at Henderson Pavilion. The only major moment of contention happened when the Univision camera crew came over to film the ProgressNow Nevada protesters and a few Romney supporters were hurling insults at the protesters... And at the Univision camera crew. Other than that, there wasn't really confrontation this morning.

The other big takeaway from this morning was in contrasting what happened on the two sides. Honestly, the line for Mitt Romney looked like a long string of white. There was little diversity in the crowd. And the crowd mostly looked angry.

Meanwhile, the protesters were frustrated over Romney's anti-immigrant stance and refusal to acknowledge the severity of the foreclosure crisis. Yet even there, the group of protesters didn't look as visibly angry as the Romney supporters waiting in line. I just couldn't miss that interesting facet.

At the very least, the nearby early voting site at the Paseo Verde Library should see some action today. We'll have to see how much of a dent it really makes in Nevada Democrats' early vote lead.

Busy Week

As early voting continues at a furious pace...



... And the debates finally come to an end, it's time for one more round of rallies and special events to fire up the base.

Today, Mitt Romney will be here in Henderson... And guess who will be just outside the venue.

And then tomorrow, Romney will head to Reno while President Obama throws a "block party" in West Las Vegas Wednesday night. We'll do our best here to stay on top of all the action and provide updates this week.

Campaign season is about to come to a close, so we might as well enjoy the fireworks.