Reid's Triumph

Interesting! People tend to forget that Nevada is one of the most unionized states in the country. They also tend to forget that there are many, many Hispanics there. Reid may be 70 years old, but he never forgets anything!:

This time around, Reid’s path to re-election began with a sustained investment in party infrastructure, continued with a varied effort to clear the field of formidable opponents and culminated with the domination of his opponent.

...He identified top Republicans who posed a significant danger, and helped to land them important appointments to keep them out of the race, such as the federal bench in the case of then-Nevada Attorney General and now Gov.-elect Brian Sandoval or the Ways and Means committee for U.S. Rep. Dean Heller.

...Again, Reid’s campaign prowess kicked in, leading to the defeat of the more moderate front-runner, Sue Lowden, and clearing the way for Angle, who was easier for him to define and marginalize.

However, Nevada’s economy continued to collapse, and the typical midterm antagonism for the party in power evolved into outright hostility, nationally and at home.

Against that backdrop, Reid’s path to victory seemed more than uncertain. Angle quickly rallied after her primary win and set about raising more than $14 million, which she used to pummel Reid on the economy and immigration.

But even with ideal circumstances for an upset, her effort fell short.

In a reflection of the bitter destroy-the-opponent-at-all-costs ad war that characterized the race, many voters interviewed at polls across the state said they hated both choices. Reid’s campaign seized on that dynamic, driving a wedge between Angle’s fervent base and moderate Republicans, who found her unacceptable.

“I’ve watched Sharron Angle and she’s nuts,” said Reno Republican Richard Hill, who voted for Reid.

In a telling statistic, 3,000 more Republicans than Democrats voted early in Angle’s home Washoe County, but Reid still trounced her in early voting returns.

...Hispanic voters proved key to Reid’s victory.

Despite earlier polling data that indicated Hispanics would skip this election, exit polls showed they accounted for a record 16 percent of total voters.

That turnout was likely backlash to an ad aired by a Republican operative explicitly telling Hispanics not to vote, as well as inflammatory ads from Angle’s campaign that used images of Hispanic youth dressed as gang members.

Xavier Caballos, a Mexican immigrant and Las Vegas Democrat who voted for Reid, said Angle had tried to make people like him look dangerous.

“That was the final straw,” said 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.”

...In recent years, his clout as majority leader has helped him further causes in Nevada’s interest. It was due to Reid’s influence, for example, that so many stimulus dollars and government loan guarantees were steered to Nevada to ensure that the newest wave industry in the United States — renewable energy — would get a special edge in the Silver State.

But there’s no question what Reid was most passionate about as a local issue: the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Reid, not one to seek out the limelight, made his mark on the issue during his first year as a senator, when he attempted to stage a filibuster of the annual energy appropriations bill to keep it from designating Yucca as the country’s only nuclear waste dump site. The “Screw Nevada” bill eventually passed, but 27 other senators joined Reid in voting against it.

Today, he is credited with steering the Obama administration through every administrative step possible toward finally killing the controversial project.