Abstract

Why Bush Scored in Nevada

The author discusses the Nevada vote for George W. Bush and the Republican Party. On most big-ticket issues, most Nevadans disagreed more with the National Republican Party than they did with the Democrats. On what is arguably the single biggest issue facing the state, the opening of a vast nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, a statewide survey conducted by the Office of the Governor's Agency for Nuclear Projects in the run-up to the election showed that 77 percent were opposed to the project, which is supported by Bush but opposed by John Kerry. Canvassers also found strong unease about the direction of the war in Iraq, the state of the economy and job security. They also expressed concern about Bush's water distribution policies in the arid West, recent judicial rulings encroaching on Native American tribal sovereignty, Bush's proposals on Social Security, the lack of affordable healthcare, the price of gasoline and so on. Yet on election day, George W. Bush won Nevada by 21,567 votes--mirroring the nation, the split was 51 percent to 48 percent. Indeed, many Nevadans who voted for Bush turned around and supported Democrats in other races. Strategists on both sides point to cultural issues as a crucial factor in Kerry's defeat.