LAS VEGAS — Nevada’s early-voting numbers show Democratic presidential-election dominance in the swing state could come crashing down next month, making former President Donald Trump the first Republican to win the state’s six Electoral College votes in 20 years.
A 2020 Democratic lead of 47,000 ballots returned by this point in the cycle has been erased, with a swing of close to 53,000 Republican ballots, GOP campaign strategist Jeremy Hughes tweeted Tuesday.
It’s given Republicans a nearly 6,000-vote lead in the Silver State.
The changing ballot numbers come as a new AARP poll shows the ex-prez ahead of Kamala Harris in Nevada by 2 points, with independent voters over 50 preferring Trump 41% versus 27% for the vice president.
A Trump win here would seriously dent Harris’ chances of keeping the White House in Democratic hands. The veep’s team had former President Barack Obama in North Las Vegas Saturday and will bring in First Lady Jill Biden and Gov. Tim Walz during the next week in an attempt to juice turnout.
Early voting in Nevada ends Nov. 1, while mail-in ballots can be received up to Nov. 9 by 5 p.m. — four days after Election Day — provided they are postmarked by Nov. 5.
Mail-in and early-voting totals the secretary of state’s released show 263,410 ballots cast as of Monday, representing 13.1% of statewide turnout. The 101,231 GOP ballots cast so far lead the 95,392 Democratic ballots by 5,839, or 2.2%. A further 66,787 ballots were cast by unaffiliated voters or those registered with other political parties.
What those early ballots — in-person and postal — contain won’t be known until the polls close Nov. 5. But pundit Jon Ralston, CEO and editor of The Nevada Independent, said Monday night the GOP hasn’t seen a statewide ballot lead here since 2008, and it “could signal serious danger” for the Harris campaign.
RealClearPolitics’ Nevada polling average gives Trump a 0.7-point lead over Harris, down one-tenth of a point from the weekend.
At issue is the so-called “Clark County firewall” Democrats supposedly have in the state’s most populous county, which includes Las Vegas and boasts 1.4 million registered voters. That amounts to 70% of the state’s 1.98 million “active” and registered voters.
Election officials reported 72,969 Clark County Democrats have voted early as of Tuesday, versus 66,481 Republicans and 49,893 “other” voters. That gives the Democrats a margin of roughly 6,500 votes, but Washoe County — the state’s second-largest by population — and several rural counties are seeing strong turnouts.
Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks tweeted Democrats “need to run up the score in Clark [County]. They haven’t done it so far.”
Silver State Republicans say the early results are encouraging and a result of hard work on the ground.
“We’re seeing a strong turnout from Republicans who understand the importance of banking their vote ahead of time,” Nevada GOP Chairman and Trump senior adviser Michael J. McDonald told The Post.
“This enthusiasm reflects the confidence voters have in President Trump’s leadership and his ability to solve Nevadans’ top concerns: rising costs, stagnant wages, and affordable housing.”
GOP combat veteran Sam Brown’s Senate campaign is also heartened by the early-voting numbers.
“There is incredible energy on the ground,” said Raegan Lehman, campaign communications director. “Nevadans have made it clear they are ready for a change and the momentum is on our side.”
Democrats, meanwhile, believe targeting the state’s nonpartisan voters will deliver them a victory, albeit slim.
“Nevada is consistently won by a field margin. As we’ve said all along, this election will be close. We know nonpartisan voters will play a major role in deciding this election, which is why we invested early in a ground game focused on both turning out Democrats and earning support from nonpartisans and moderate Republicans,” Nevada Democratic Party spokesman Nicholas Simões Machado told The Post.
“Nevada Democrats have been laser-focused all cycle on talking directly to the growing number of registered nonpartisans and making sure we mobilize the broad and diverse coalition we need to win statewide.”
How smartphone apps turn your night sky into a space map
Astronomy apps help you spot constellations, planets and satellites in real time using your smartphone.
Skywatchers across the U.S. are about to be treated to a dazzling weekend filled with not only two active meteor showers, but a celestial alignment starring the moon.
For two nights, Earth’s only natural satellite will host a cosmic party with three planets — Mars, Saturn and Uranus.
The phenomenon, often called a planet parade, presents spectators with a rare opportunity to see not only multiple planets, but also the moon, appear close together in the night sky — at least, from Earth’s vantage.
The best part of the show? Most of the striking spectacle — with the exception of Uranus — will be visible to the naked eye.
Here’s everything to know about the rare sight, as well as when, how and where you can see it across the United States.
The moon will appear in the night sky before sunrise on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, NASA said in a monthly skywatching guide.
While the term “planet parade” is not an official astronomy term, it is an unofficial way for astronomers and stargazers to refer to certain celestial events.
The planets in our solar system orbit the sun essentially along a line across the sky in a flat disc-shaped plane called the ecliptic.
Another term for a certain kind of planetary alignment, planet parades are what happens when planets line up along the ecliptic in a straight line and appear to us on Earth to be marching across the night sky, according to NASA. So, while planetary alignments themselves aren’t special, it is notable to have an opportunity to observe multiple planets at once.
During the celestial alignment, the moon will be entering a waning crescent phase before we have a new moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That means Earth’s only natural satellite is getting less and less full and bright each night as its crescent gets thinner and thinner, NASA explains.
That’s good news for stargazers, as the moon will still be visible without outshining the planets nearby.
Look toward the eastern sky to catch the cosmic lineup in the early morning.
While the moon will of course be the easiest to locate, Mars will look like a small reddish point of light, while Saturn is also bright and easy to spot, NASA explained in a video.
For the clearest views, there are several places that are an easy drive from Reno where you can get a clear view of the stars, including:
Cloudy conditions may bring relief from the recent heat wave, but they could spoil the early-morning view of the planetary parade in much of northwestern Nevada.
Mars and Saturn are among the five planets in our solar system visible without optical aid — along with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Telescopes certainly will enhance the view but spectators don’t need any equipment to spot those planets joining the moon in the pre-dawn sky.
As for Uranus, the planet is typically not as bright — despite being the third largest in our solar system — and will require a telescope to see, NASA said.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. The Reno Gazette Journal’s Carly Sauvageau and Brett McGinness contributed to this report.
A Nevada man is believed to have suffered a deadly fall while climbing in Oregon.
He’s been identified as 77-year-old Robert Pickering.
Search and rescue crews say they found his body along Mount Washington, northwest of Bend, according to a social media post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
A climbing guide reported hearing a rockslide near the summit after Pickering passed his group.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was one of several groups that assisted in the search.
RENO, Nev. – A homicide suspect from Montana took their own life on Thursday night after police surrounded their car in northwest Reno, reports KTVN 2 News Nevada.
The incident happened in the area of Sharlands Avenue around 9 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Reno Police Department.
Officers located the suspect and surrounded their car, blocking them in. They then heard a single gunshot and backed away.
Reinforcements were called, and a drone was brought in by UNRPD. It was then confirmed the suspect was in their car, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the news agency reports.
The suspect has not been identified pending the notification of next of kin, and no additional information has been released at this time.
In addition to the Reno Police Department, the Regional Narcotics Unit and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
The investigation is ongoing.
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