Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid addresses volunteers on the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010, at campaign headquarters on Valley View Boulevard.
Published Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010 | 8:40 p.m.
Updated 3 minutes ago
Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle speaks to supporters at the Peppermill Hotel/Casino in Reno on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2010.
Sun Coverage
When the numbers flashed up on the television screen that Reid was leading with 52 percent of the vote to Sharron Angle's 43, the convention center ballroom exploded into applause -- which turned into yelps and cheers as party attendees realized that 52 percent of precincts were reporting -- a sharp jump in significance from the numbers that flashed up only 10 minutes earlier, showing a narrower, 8 percent lead with just 1 percent of the precincts reporting.
"That's good," said press secretary Phoebe Sweet as she watched and digested the numbers. "That's good. And we're up in Washoe county too."
But Democrats are already cautiously celebrating the early voting totals.
After casting her vote in Reno, Angle said she was “cautiously optimistic” about her chances this evening. But she added, when prompted by a reporter, that her campaign is prepared for a recount if that becomes necessary.
“Whatever is necessary to do,” she said. “We have to be ready for any opportunity.”
In a reflection of the bitter destroy-the-opponent-at-all-costs ad war that characterized the Senate race, voters interviewed at polls across the state said they hated both of their choices.
Many Angle voters saw their ballot-choice as a protest of Reid’s policies, not an endorsement of Angle’s views.
“I’m not 100 percent Sharron Angle, but I am 100 percent against Harry Reid,” said Joseph Gomez, a Reno retiree who cast his vote for Angle.
Those who may have found some of her positions extreme, as Reid argued, said she wouldn’t be able to enact them anyway if she’s in the minority.
“It would take more than just her to end Social Security,” said 68-year-old Gail Gomez, a Reno Republican who voted for Angle. Similarly, Reid voters seemed more persuaded by the Democrat’s effort to cast his opponent as an extremist than his argument that Nevada could use his seniority.
“I voted for Reid reluctantly, because he’s a henchman for Obama,” said Lawrence Levine, a Las Vegas Democrat. “Nevada had a real problem with the two candidates on the ballot. Angle revealed that she’s no kind of leader.”
Reid’s turnout efforts focused strongly on the Hispanic community, a key swing demographic in Nevada elections. Early polling suggested Hispanics wouldn’t turn out because of frustration with the economy and a lack of movement on immigration reform.
A Republican operative even aired an ad explicitly telling Hispanics not to vote.
That, coupled with Angle’s inflammatory ads using images of Hispanic youth dressed as gang members drove some Hispanic voters to the polls.
“That was the final straw,” Gilberto Ramirez, a Reno concrete worker who recently obtained his citizenship and voted for the first time. “She was depicting me as a gang member. I served seven years in the Marine Corps.”
Other voters said Reid deserved more time to help fix the economy.
"Give Harry Reid and Obama a chance to fix it. It took them eight years to make this mess," said Selena Hamilton, a Las Vegas Democrat, referring to Bush and the Republicans. "And we're trying to get it cleaned up in just one year. And these Republicans in the Senate got to stop getting in the way."
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