Nevada's swing to the left

Swing state Nevada went Dem in the Presidential elections, by a margin of some 12 percentage points. The results were a shocker for some, but if you take a look at the county-by-county results you see that only Washoe and Clark Counties, home to the population centers of Reno and Las Vegas, went for Obama. The Nevada Dems also went into election day with some 60,000 more registered voters than the Republicans, the result of a massive get-out-the-vote effort during the state’s early caucus.

In another interesting turn of events, Libertarian candidate Bob Barr came away with only .4 percent of Nevada’s vote, less than Ralph Nader and a good deal less than some polls had suggested.

The Dems swept the state elections as well. In the most watched race, Democratic state senator Dina Titus beat out three-term Republican incumbent Jon Porter in the 3rd Congressional District, which takes in most of suburban Las Vegas. The race had garnered national attention, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee putting it on its list of top 20 targeted races. Titus’ win, along with several others, helped the Dems gain control of the state Senate, with a 12-9 margin. Prior to the election, the Republicans had an 11-10 majority.

And Nevada continues its winning streak, as far as predicting presidential wins. The state has voted for the winner in every election since 1912, with exception of 1976 (when it backed Gerald Ford).