Nevada caucuses predicted

The San Jose Mercury News, having taken notice that Nevada’s politics are changing, has decided the reason is Golden Staters moving to the Silver State.

In an article by Casey Tolan, the newspaper predicts a strong showing in the Nevada caucuses by Californian Kamala Harris as a result of this alleged takeover.

The change has been underway for many years and has generally been attributed to the state’s large Latino vote and Republican efforts to alienate that group. The state voted Democratic in presidential elections in 2008, 2012 and 2016. In 2010, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Harry Reid easily won reelection over Republican Sharron Angle after she ran television spots portraying Latinos carrying weapons and appearing in police mug shots.

The state now has two Democratic U.S. senators, and three out of four Democratic U.S. House members. Five out of six state government officers elected statewide are Democrats, and the Nevada Assembly is 29-13 Democratic, the Nevada Senate 13-8 Democratic.

After poor Democratic turnout in 2014, Republicans swept the state in the party’s biggest win since 1890. The state reacted unhappily to the GOP’s subsequent performance in the legislature and returned Democrats to power in 2016.

Hillary Clinton won contested Democratic presidential caucuses in 2008 and 2016. The caucus has now been converted into something more akin to a primary.