PARTY LINES: Midterm election over, Nevada looks toward 2024

Yes, the 2022 election is just wrapping up, and yes, we’d all rather talk Thanksgiving turkey than politics.

But here at Party Lines, it’s never too early to look forward to the next election.

That’s just what some of Nevada’s top Democratic politicians and political operatives are doing, as they jockey to make Nevada the first state in the nation to hold a presidential primary. That decision may be made on Dec. 1, by the Democratic National Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. (Yes, Nevada law now says that a presidential preference primary election will be held on the first Tuesday in February of presidential election years, but that law can be changed by the Legislature, depending on what the national party decides.)

In a memo posted on Medium and shared with reporters, Democratic consultant Rebecca Lambe uses the 2022 election as evidence that the Silver State has what it takes to be the first in the nation when it comes to choosing the next president.

“We did not win every race, but we proved our ability to grind out important general election victories even in a tough political environment,” Lambe wrote.

And she’s right: Not only did Democrats — albeit very narrowly — keep Catherine Cortez Masto’s U.S. Senate seat (and with it, the Democratic Senate majority), they kept three congressional seats, majorities in the state Legislature and three of six constitutional offices.

And one of those — secretary of state — is the most important one when it comes to earning first-in-the-nation status. Had Republican former Assemblyman Jim Marchant — a prominent election denier who wanted to return to the days of hand-counted paper ballots statewide — been elected, there’s no way Democrats would have even considered Nevada’s application.

Lambe also points out some of Nevada’s other selling points:

— Diversity: Not only does Nevada have ethnic diversity (with a 30 percent Latino population, nearly 11 percent Black population and 10 percent Asian and Pacific Islander population), and a significant organized labor population, but it also has cultural and education diversity.

“Nevada’s electorate is heavily made up of the working class, non-college educated voters who are slipping away from the party nationally and we need to win back,” she wrote. “There is growing long-term evidence of Democratic slippage among these voters, and we have to stop the bleeding.”

— Democracy: Nevada has strong voter laws with ample opportunities to participate, including universal mail voting, same-day voter registration, automatic registration applications at the DMV, two weeks of early voting and Election Day vote centers valleywide. And there’s little chance that will change under a Democratic Legislature, even with a newly elected Republican governor.

The only thing Nevada may want to consider — and certainly something that would sweeten the deal with national Democrats — is moving up mail-ballot deadlines, so that the voters in the rest of the country can find out who Nevada voters picked in a first-in-the-nation primary on election night, and not a week later.

— It’s a bargain: Nevada’s two media markets cover most of the state, and it’s possible for candidates to hold events that let them reach many voters at the retail level.

Closing argument? “If we disproportionately focus on a state with more highly educated, more affluent and less representative voters, then we are setting our party up for long-term failure,” Lambe wrote. “Nevada requires that candidates communicate with voters from every background, education and community. Our primary process should be about finding a candidate who can win the White House, and Nevada is where you find out who can go the distance.”

Amen, said Nevada’s entire congressional delegation in a news release sent Friday. “Having Nevada’s multiracial, blue-collar electorate kick off the primary calendar in future cycles will make our entire party stronger, and we’ve proved again in 2022 that there’s simply no other state with a better argument for going first.”

Now, about getting those political conventions to come here …

No. Just no.

The Los Angeles Times did a quick post-mortem on the Nevada election, titled “Some Nevada Democrats blame party infighting for defeats.” But the only thing is, the election’s big defeat — Gov. Steve Sisolak’s loss of the governor’s mansion — had nothing to do with a Democratic schism.

When the Nevada Democratic Party was taken over by activists, some affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, the professional operatives who formerly ran the state party realized immediately things had to change. That’s why they quit the state party and formed Nevada Democratic Victory, an outside group nestled under the Washoe County Democratic Party.

Nevada Democratic Victory did all of the heavy lifting in the most recent election, and its success was fairly remarkable. In an election in which a “red wave” was predicted, Democrats kept a U.S. Senate seat, three more-or-less vulnerable congressional seats, three of six constitutional offices, expanded majorities in the state Assembly and kept the state Senate.

And that gubernatorial loss? The candidates were separated by just about 15,300 votes statewide, out of more than 1 million cast. Sisolak’s defeat can more accurately be traced to his actions to fight the COVID-19 pandemic than to infighting among Democrats.

Meanwhile, the Nevada State Democratic Party wasn’t a major factor in the cycle, especially with respect to the biggest races on the ballot, so party infighting can hardly be blamed for Democratic losses.

Moving on up

Attorney Dan Stewart — who served Nevada’s two most recent governors — will join the powerhouse law firm of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder on the state government relations team. Stewart worked as chief strategy officer for Sisolak, and also served as chief counsel for Gov. Brian Sandoval. In between, he worked for the firm of Hutchison and Steffen, headed by former Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison.

Former U.S. Senate contender, and retired U.S. Army Capt. Sam Brown, who lost his primary bid to Adam Laxalt in June, was named chairman of the Nevada Faith and Freedom Coalition. “Sam is the definition of servant-leader, and we are honored that he has chosen to lead the Nevada Faith & Freedom Coalition as we work to educate, equip and mobilize Nevadans of all faiths,” said Tim Head, executive director of the national Faith & Freedom Coalition. The coalition — which mobilizes faith-based voters — says it made more than 250,000 home visits during the 2022 election cycle.

Enjoy the holidays

Party Lines will be taking a hiatus for the holidays, but will return in January with all-new editions, focused on the new administration of Gov.-elect Joe Lombardo administration, the 2023 Legislature and the inevitable march toward 2024. Stay tuned, and happy holidays!

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.