By Mark Waite
Members of the Nye County Democratic Party cheered during a party at a private residence near West Calvada Boulevard when news popped up on television about 8:15 p.m. Tuesday that President Barack Obama won re-election.
The Democratic Party in 2008 launched an effort to campaign in every region, even heavily Republican ones like Nye County. U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, D.-Fla., the chairman of the National Democratic Party, commemorated the opening of the Obama for President office in Pahrump back in August.
Given the red county, Chris Rork, who worked on political campaigns in Denver, must have felt like a fish out of water when he arrived in Pahrump last August to spearhead the local Obama campaign. But he was pleased with the results, even though a core group of Nye County voters representing at least 55 percent, voted Republican at the top of the ticket.
Former Gov. Mitt Romney soundly defeated President Barack Obama in Nye County, capturing 60.3 percent of the vote, while Obama won the statewide vote 52.3 percent to 45.73 percent. U.S. Senator Dean Heller, R-Nev., won 55.3 percent of the Nye County vote, more than his razor-thin statewide margin of victory over U.S. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev.
Republican Danny Tarkanian won 56.27 percent of the Nye County vote in his unsuccessful race against State Sen. Steven Horsford, D-North Las Vegas for the new congressional district four race.
“The Obama campaign had an organizer in Nye County and to my knowledge the Romney campaign didn’t. That reflected our strategy. It’s not we’re not going to go into Nye County because it traditionally votes Republican, we’re going to go into every community in every part of the state to organize instead of a traditional strategy or just going into areas that support us and try to turn them out heavily. We had organization in Mesquite, Boulder City and places that are also traditionally Republican,” Rork said.
Local Democrats made relationships that will pay off longer after he leaves, Rork said.
“We seek any ground in this election and I think it paid off big in that when I leave, there will be an organization that is committed for the visions our president laid out,” he said.
The Democrats worked out of a tiny office in the Charlotta Mall that was formerly a hotel room, without computers and other infrastructure most campaign offices built, Rork said.
“We built an organization that made thousands of calls on election day. Whether we won or not in Nye County, I think we were able to form an organization here that was quite effective,” he said.
The trends that changed Nevada blue are changing demographics, Rork said, like an increase in Hispanic voters.
Statewide, the early vote took Nevada off the plate for Romney, building up a Democratic fire wall in one of the several battleground states, he said.
“We’re people centered and data driven. The techniques that we used for turning out votes or recruiting volunteers or contacting voters have been really culled over the last five and a half years. It really is the most sophisticated campaign organization I’ve ever worked on,” Rork said. “It’s really something to behold how we’re able to contact people. A lot of it is the way we’re able to target voters.”
Democrats targeted everyone under the sun, but didn’t cede any ground with Republican women or Hispanic voters, he said.
Rork said volunteers in Pahrump made thousands of calls, he has a stack of call sheets a foot and a half high. Democrats from all over the country also helped turn out the vote in the battleground states, he said, they only lost North Carolina among those battlegrounds.
“They had quite a registration advantage in Nye County but we worked extremely hard around voter registration around the state and we made that advantage. It wasn’t as great as it was before our work, we did a great job of making that advantage with registered voters and then turning them out,” Rork said.
Republicans gained 820 registered voters in Nye County in the past two years and 1,196 since the last presidential election in 2008. Democrats lost 121 registered voters since 2010 and 617 since 2008.
Rork’s main regret was Berkley’s loss, after a nasty campaign.
“It was a pretty dirty race that went on, especially with the advertising. The TV advertising was just really intense,” Rork said. “Most of the voters say I hate negative advertisements but when they walk out and do an exit poll and they ask why they voted for someone they’ll mention the last couple negative advertisements they saw.”
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- Mark Waite / Pahrump Valley Times – Nye County Democratic Party Chairman Laurayne Murray, at left, helps take down a sign for district four congressman-elect Steven Horsford, while volunteer Jerry Schmitt helps with the furniture.
Im shocked lol you mean the Democrats are trying to “take over” Nye county? Yeah, good luck with that.
You might win a few here or there, but look at the totals for Nye, we are solidly red. No, you cant take us over and bring your nanny state and high taxes into our homes.
As evidenced by the voter info, we are gaining in Republicans here, thank goodness.
Roger…Some people, like you, will continue to vote agianst your best interests. Someday you may turn off Fox noise and actually think for yourself. Yeah right, lol.
I wonder if you know how much I laugh when you say things like that, because
A) I don’t have cable or a satellite dish
and
B) I have never watched fox news.
Not everyone who disagrees with you watches “Fox Noise”
And quite frankly its not governments job to tell me what is in my best interest.
I suspect this is the editor getting excited for his agenda. I sure don’t see the inroads.
I would have to agree with you on this. The good people of Nye County will vote for anyone with an “R” after their names even if they are total incompetents.
Gotta love blind loyalty.
Is that kind of like the “D’s” voting in Steven Horsford for Nevada’s 4th congressional district?
No, but it IS like R’s voting for their own and getting incompetents like our assessor and treasurer. They were elected simply because they ran as Republicans and the sheep voted for them no knowing they had no idea what they were doing.
Horseford was elected because he is the best person for the job. Also, Heller was elected because HE was the best person for the job as well. It’s as simple as that, no more, no less.
LOL the previous assessor had retired when voting time came, we didn’t have much of a choice, but then I guess it wouldn’t make a great comment if you included that.
To Morgman, the assessor WAS retiring but she was still on the ballot. There WAS choice.
If my best interest was to have Uncle Sam take care of me I would go right along with Robert.
so mutch to put down here but one thing is CLEAAR!
NV is the BATTLE BORN STATE! and why I incourage you to google Nevada law Library and study the NV constitutions especailly our Weapns Laws and hunting Laws and the NRS Constitution of the Second Amendment OK and why you will never in this Life time over come all of NV! In NV this LAST SUMMER We who are gun Owners and NRA members challenged the Invite by Willam Howe the Ast Atty Gen of NV and a SanFransisco University law Proffesor to discuss why NV and In general Americans need to have and own assualt wepons, a mis-used term for the real definition” Automatic Rifel.” or the old acronium A.rmalite R.ifle Stoners calssic M16! a N.M gun Shop owner undr attack for advrtisng on social media to the gun and varmint predator hunters a Coyote Calling hunt Contest and a troll picked up on it and the hate emails and twitts are alarming! and this element lives in America and Votes isthe enemy with in!
I can put down why Oboyo won! Fraud and Lies and why Dem’s and RHINO’s lie about taxes and spending>guilt of theft there are many dems whom are in the hip pockets of Big oil and NG and Coal to stop coal production is to raise the world energy markets on Natural Gas and why NV may not see NG here in PV,NV?
Clinton is a Commie as Carter and is no longer the worst President in U.S History your Great Messiah Oboyo is, his record can not deny! why carter pushed Clinton to clear his name ,Carter hates Jews and Blacks An Old Guard KKK! the LBJ great Society has failed blacks why do you keep voteing for Dem’s ?
America Over thrown has begun!
Barry Sotero,AKA Barrack Husain Obama is ! On 11/07 12 the” Overthrow of America.” has now begun! the renwed ATT UN Gun Ban disguise, Then the Olegarchy can take over and with thehelp of ganbangers Muslims and the UN Globalist, The South will Rise again and all the Blacks will be culled and -Along with Mexicans and Jews and Christians FEMA will be Your new home we will fight to survive Imprisonment!
PROOF 50% OF SOME REAL AMERICANS AND FAMILYS ARE TEARING APART AND BRING WE WILL BRING THEM BACK AS THEY SEE THE TRUTH BECAUSE OF THE VOTE BUT WE WHO TRUST CHRIST WIL NOT LET YOU WIN.
THE OTHER 50% ARE THE ENEMY WITH IN!
Oboyo will be Impeached or try to declare another ilegal action or WW III then he will try and use Israel why he is a Muslim in Disguise why is he buddys with the American Muslim partys alrmaing 85 % of Islamist in America voted for Oboyo!
Fortunately, Obama Care covers mental illness. So you’re good.
Robert, I suspect you have no idea that many people who voted for Obama will have no job soon and many full time positions will go to less than 30 hours a week.I would call that voting against ones best interest.
But better still….just wait till you see the brand new 2013 IRS Form 1040, then you’ll understand.
Then you can do the math.
@William
You are 100% correct. Applebee’s restaurant and Papa Johns pizza already announced that effective 1-1-13 everyone is part time. Countless more companies will cut everyone to part time before the new year.
Obamacare does not apply to companies with 50 or less employees, you will see countless companies fire employees to get under 50.
So how come during Obama’s time in office the rich have gotten richer and the poor have gotten poorer ? He was the one who was supposed to help the “little guy” but the little guy has gotten crushed.
Yes, and the owner of Papa John’s owns a 40,000 square foot castle complete with a draw bridge and a private golf course. Somehow, I don’t think raising the price of a pizza by 14 cents is going to break him. Also, most Papa John stores are franchises that don;t have 50 employees to begin with. As a wise man once said, “I don’t want to be a rich man in a poor country”
Two things: Comment removed for bashing. We don’t call people names.
No. 2 Don’t post all those links. It’s considered spamming.
PVT
Entitlement Nation
47.1 million people on food stamps= 47.1 million votes
Borrow from the Chinese to buy votes, what a plan !
58 million people rely on Medicaid services today, and millions more will qualify for Medicaid when the provisions of the Affordable Care Act take effect in 2014.
58 million more democratic votes
No hope is left to save the America I once knew.
The worst Democrat is better than the best Republican.
@robert….
with a comment like that i sure hope you don’t really vote…..
But … the Independents are the best!