LAS VEGAS – Looking to energize Nevada Democrats, former President Bill Clinton will lead a “vote early, vote now” rally in Las Vegas on Tuesday, one week before the Nov. 4 election in which Republicans are turning out in greater numbers than Democrats so far during early voting.
Appearing with Clinton will be U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford, who is being challenged for the 4th Congressional District by Republican Cresent Hardy. The district includes all of Nye County, parts of Clark County and many rural areas.
Also appearing with Clinton will be U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, Democratic candidate for attorney general Ross Miller, Democratic candidate for secretary of state Kate Marshall, Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Lucy Flores and Democratic candidate for Congress Erin Bilbray.
The 4:30 p.m. event will be held at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve. Clinton will appear with the slate of Democratic candidates, many of whom are in close races despite the Democratic Party’s registration advantage over Republicans of more than 60,000 voters statewide.
During the first week of early voting, Republican voters have outnumbered Democrats by about 10,000, a reversal of historical trends in which the GOP is usually behind and catches up on Election Day, which is Nov. 4 this year. Early voting continues next week, ending Oct. 31, and Democrats are hoping to make up for this week’s poor performance.
“President Clinton will urge Nevadans to vote early and highlight the stakes in this election,” the Democratic Party said in announcing details of the Clinton rally.
Notably absent from the list is Democrat Bob Goodman who is running for against GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who is expected to win re-election in a landslide. The Democratic Party failed to recruit a high-level candidate to challenge Sandoval and isn’t openly supporting Goodman, who lost to “none of these candidates” in the June 10 primary.
Democrats are having trouble getting their voters to the polls, partly because there are no high-level races this non-presidential election year. No U.S. Senate seat is at stake this year, either.
Information about attending the Clinton rally wasn’t immediately available. Typically such rallies are free and packed with invited Democratic party loyalists.