GOP

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s “actual� unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2010 increased to 22.3 percent from 21.5 percent in the second quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Senate Democrats are running a slate of candidates across the state in the hopes of winning a 14-seat, veto-proof majority for the upcoming 2011 session.
But Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, said he does not expect it to happen, and he has not discounted the possibility of the GOP winning the majority.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – The state Assembly’s Democratic Caucus failed to disclose more than $120,000 in donations from its own members earlier this year, but a Democratic leader says they weren’t legally required to do so.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
RENO – Secretary of State Ross Miller said today there have been no complaints filed with his office about suspicious voter activity despite email rumors and media accounts that at least some electronic voting machines are pre-programmed to support U.S. Senate candidate Harry Reid, D-NV.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – U.S. Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., is defending his decision to seek stimulus money on behalf of constituents and Nevada government entities despite voting against the massive funding measure in February 2009.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Service
A debate today among the three candidates for Nevada attorney general focused on a disputed ad discussing a decades old criminal conviction of the Republican seeking the post and allegations of political favoritism by the incumbent, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said today his biggest concern about a “lame duck� session of Congress following the Nov. 2 general election is the potential for tax increases.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
RENO – An enthusiastic crowd of several hundred Tea Party supporters showed up to cheer on former GOP Alaska Gov. and U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin today at one of what will be many stops across the county in advance of the Nov. 2 general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
A much-anticipated face-to-face debate between U.S. Sen. Harry Reid and his GOP opponent Sharron Angle on Thursday displayed stark contrasts between the two candidates but provoked little in the way of controversy.

By Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada state GOP treasurer candidate Steve Martin did say on a local television program in September that he had clients that lost money in the financial meltdown in the fall of 2008. But Martin reiterated this week he was not providing investment advice to his clients at that time.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
A debate Wednesday between Democrat Secretary of State Ross Miller and his Republican opponent Rob Lauer spent most of the time on past controversies, including Lauer’s alleged assault of a woman in a bar and Miller’s track record of prosecution as a Clark County deputy district attorney.

By Nevada News Bureau
Barry Herr, the Republican candidate challenging state Controller Kim Wallin in the November general election, said today he would bring a GOP point of view to the office and use the position to bring conservative influence to the discussion of taxes and other issues.

By Nevada News Bureau
Republican state treasurer candidate Steve Martin faced off against Democratic incumbent Kate Marshall in a debate Monday, with Martin continuing to criticize his opponent for failing to fully disclose details of a $50 million failed 2008 investment.

CARSON CITY – State Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, today announced he is supporting Democrat Harry Reid in his U.S. Senate race against GOP challenger Sharron Angle.

CARSON CITY – Members of the Republican Assembly Caucus today called on state Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek to delay implementation of a new prevailing wage rate in Nevada until the Legislature has an opportunity to review the methodology.
The caucus is concerned a flawed process resulted in the new prevailing wage rate that took effect Oct. 1. There is a 30-day period to file an objection.

CARSON CITY – State Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio said today he will make an endorsement in the neck-and-neck U.S. Senate race within the next few days.

CARSON CITY – Republican state treasurer candidate Steve Martin said today the Democratic incumbent is playing politics by delaying a discussion involving an unprecedented $50 million investment loss until after the Nov. 2 general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – With the Nevada campaign season kicking into high gear in the four weeks remaining before election day, candidates and their supporters are also starting to focus on what could mean the difference between victory and defeat: voter turnout.

An advocacy group that helps parents with autistic children and adults with the neurological disability will demand an apology today from GOP Senate Candidate Sharron Angle.

CARSON CITY – Catherine Cortez Masto points to a number of accomplishments in her first term as attorney general, from reducing methamphetamine production in Nevada to cracking down on mortgage fraud, all while having to live with major budget cuts and fewer staff.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
Republican Congressional candidate Joe Heck said today he expects the race between him and incumbent Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., to be decided by no more than 2 percentage points in the November general election.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau

Former Republican Senate candidate John Chachas said today he is now residing in Nevada and that he “may run� for the U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., in 2012.
“I may run,� he said in an interview with Jon Ralston on the Face To Face television program.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s active voter rolls increased by 7,882 registrations in August, with Democrats picking up just over 2,600 new voters compared to just over 2,000 for Republicans.
Democrats now have 461,461 active registered voters just about two months before the Nov. 2 general election compared to 402,960 for the GOP, a 58,501 edge for Democrats and a slight increase from July.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s public employee pension system earned a rate of return above its 8 percent target last fiscal year, but the long-term unfunded liability is still expected to see an increase when an analysis is presented this fall.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller said Monday it is unrealistic for both major party candidates for governor to say they won’t raise taxes in the upcoming 2011 session.

Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
Underdog Democratic candidate for governor Rory Reid took the opportunity at a first debate today with leading GOP candidate Brian Sandoval to challenge his opponent’s commitment to spending on public education.

By Nevada News Bureau staff
CARSON CITY – Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said today he believes the race between U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP challenger Sharron Angle will come down to 5,000 votes.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Assembly Minority Leader Pete Goicoechea said today Nevada voters should be asked to expand the state sales tax to include food purchases as a way to raise revenue and broaden the tax base.
But any such revenue hike should be accompanied by a reduction in the state’s regressive business taxes, he said.

By Sean Whaley / Nevada News Bureau
CARSON CITY – Nevada’s worst in the nation 14.3 percent unemployment rate for July does not even begin to tell the real story of the state’s dismal job situation, a state agency reported today.