Yawning down the home stretch

By Emily Richmond (contact)

Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2006 | 7:36 a.m.

With six days before the primary election, you'd expect a final flurry of campaign rallies at shopping malls, parks or hotel ballrooms in the biggest population center of the state.

The candidate would do it to win a few more precious votes and to snare some free TV time.

But not here, not this year.

Instead, candidates are meeting privately with donors, preparing for a Northern Nevada televised debate and making a handful of small, personal appearances that, for the most part, are taking place beyond Clark County's borders.

"It's kind of surprising how quiet these Nevada races are," said George Gorton, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's top political strategist and campaign adviser to Clark County sheriff candidate Jerry Airola. "A huge portion of the state is Las Vegas, and it's a huge population that doesn't seem to be that interested in politics."

Around the nation, even without a presidential nomination at stake, there are a host of states with pitched midterm elections. Connecticut is going rally crazy in the Democratic primary race between incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman and newcomer Ned Lamont.

Indeed, conventional wisdom might call for a big-city, home-stretch rally to energize the troops, impress undecided voters and attract more volunteers.

But in Nevada several factors have contributed to a low-key political season.

Nevada's early voting is diluting interest in last-minute political stump speeches.

And the state primary was bumped from September to August, a month when temperatures discourage crowds from turning out. No candidate wants to risk TV coverage of a rally where balloons outnumber boosters.

"It's hot - who wants to go out for a rally in this kind of weather?" said David Damore, associate professor of political science at UNLV. "People are finishing up vacations, school starts in a few weeks. People are not thinking about the elections right now."

There may be strategic reasons, too, to lay low the week before the primary, as counterintuitive as it may sound. Organizing big campaign rallies require significant field operations - and cash. Some candidates, particularly those who believe they are already poised to win their party's nomination, may prefer to save the dough for the big fight ahead.

"It's a primary, so voter enthusiasm isn't going to be very high to begin with," Damore said. "Now's the time for the candidates to hit the hard-core rank and file of both parties, and make sure they turn out next Tuesday."

David Fott, also an associate political science professor at UNLV, said Nevada's early voting system may also be dampening public enthusiasm in the final week before the primary.

"You have people who voted already, before they even had an opportunity to watch the debates, which might have changed their minds," Fott said.

Or maybe the political campaigns have been relatively tame - and the candidates know it.

"The statewide Nevada campaigns haven't created a whirlwind of activity going into the primaries," said Steve Wark, a political consultant and past chairman of the Clark County Republican Party. "It would be easier to predict victory based on the sheer frenetic activity of a campaign. That doesn't really seem to exist this time."

Southern Nevada community and civic groups aren't falling over one another to host candidates for final, make-or-break speeches, the kind of diet that other states seem to eat up.

While working on Gov. Kenny Guinn's 1998 campaign, Wark recalls the week before the primary as a flurry of activity, with multiple events scheduled throughout the day.

So here's Gorton's free advice for candidates who find themselves with some free hours on their schedules in coming days.

"Work the factories and places of large employment, where people congregate automatically," Gorton said. "It's hard to get the large crowds together, so you've got to do what you can."

And remember to call the TV folks.