Vice President Joe Biden kicked off a two-day campaign swing through Nevada on Wednesday by appealing to Nevadans to get to the polls as soon as early voting begins Saturday. He told a crowd of more than 300 in a ballroom at a Reno convention center, “If we win Nevada, we will win this election.”
Biden said Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan, continue to spread doom and gloom about the economy despite signs of recovery. Biden noted that Nevada had recently seen an improvement in foreclosure and unemployment rates.
Biden heads to Las Vegas next.
Alo in Washoe County, officials say a record number of voters have registered to vote in the upcoming election. The 241,400 voters exceed the old record reached in the 2008 presidential election by 10,000.
Republicans hold a tiny lead in registration totals, having just 1,160 more registered voters than Democrats. Officials said a breakdown shows there are 91,937 Republicans and 90,777 Democrats in Washoe County. Nonpartisan and voters who align with minor political parties total 58,686.
Statewide, figures from the secretary of state’s office show Democrats hold about a 90,000 voter registration advantage statewide. In Nevada’s population hub of Clark County, the Democratic edge is nearly 127,000 as of Monday with one day to go to sign up voters.
Democrats have been far outpacing Republicans in this battleground state, with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney both hoping to take Nevada’s six electoral votes en route to the White House. Voter registration is also a big reason in the tight U.S. Senate race between Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkley.
The victor in that race could decide control of the Senate.
As the senate battle continues, Nevada’s two competitive House races are drawing big bucks from outside groups trying to influence the election, though it’s a lopsided third-party money matchup in the state’s new congressional district.
In the 4th District race between Republican Danny Tarkanian and Democratic state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, outside groups led by the National Republican Congressional Committee have spent nearly $2 million to oppose Horsford. Federal Election Commission reports show only $415,000 has come from outside to try to tarnish Tarkanian.
It’s a different story in Nevada’s 3rd District.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has spent $1.5 million opposing the re-election of Republican Congressman Joe Heck. On the opposite side of this race, the National Republican Congressional Committee has doled out $1.3 million to bash Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera.
Finally, the Federal Election Commission is looking at the findings of an audit showing financial irregularities with Sharron Angle’s 2010 senate campaign. The FEC says the group “Friends of Sharron Angle” failed to report nearly $250,000 in contributions in a timely manner.
The commission auditors say the campaign also failed to itemize $2 million in debts. Auditors recommended the group amend its filings.
Angle lost in a tight race against Senator Harry Reid.
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