It’s time, once again, to look at what has been happening recently in the Nevada Senate race. In Nevada the Democrat challenger, Shelley Berkley is trying to unseat the current Senator Dean Heller. This has been considered one of the most important races to watch this election cycle, but within the last month it looks like Dean Heller has become the front runner. All polls in the last two weeks have had Heller up by 3 points. Although these results fall within the margin of error, the tide has been with Heller for quite some time and these results indicate an outcome in favor of Heller. With their debates over, it’s all about the ground game and reaching out to the undecided voters.
In their last debate on Monday night, the two candidates hit each other on their lack of compassion for the middle class. Both claimed the other had done things within the last year to hurt the middle class. Heller accused Berkley of benefiting from the housing crisis in Nevada, talking about a company with ties to her husband which purchases troubled homes and then rents them out. He claims she is capitalizing on other people’s misery. On the other hand, Berkley pressed Heller hard on his vote for tax subsidies for big oil companies, saying he isn’t looking out for the average people. Heller continued to press the issue concerning Berkley’s ethics that she was under investigation for previously. Berkley refused to answer those attacks. But it’s not just the middle class vote the two candidates need to worry about, the Latino vote has become a center piece for victory in Nevada.
Heller has had trouble reaching out to Latino voters, whereas Mrs. Berkley has released several Spanish language TV ads. Although Heller has done his best in this area, it seems that his message is not resonating as well as Berkley’s.
On Monday, Dean Heller received the endorsement of Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval. In addition to the NRA endorsement over the weekend, Heller has picked up some much needed support from these backers. His opponent has seen the support of former President Clinton. Like many other tightly contested Senate races this cycle, Clinton has done campaign appearances to support Berkley’s bid for Senate. The two have worked hard to discredit Heller and tie him closely to the Romney/Ryan ticket.
With less than 3 weeks until the election, this race is coming down to the wire. The two candidates must really focus on raising money, and getting out into the state to reach those undecided voters. This is going to be a close race, so keep your eyes on Townhall for more updates as Election Day approaches quickly.
UPDATE: Two new polls by Rasmussen and the Las Vegas Review-Journal have Heller up by 7 and 6 points, respectively. Both of these results are outside the margin of error and therefore we have more evidence that Heller could win in Nevada. Additionally, those polled after watching the debate on Monday thought Heller won by a 2 to 1 margin. Heller is on his way to wrapping up a victory in less than 3 weeks
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