Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Sun editorial:

Voters want to see GOP’s vision

Gov. Brian Sandoval rode a Republican surge in his re-election bid Tuesday, one that swept not only through Nevada but also throughout the nation.

Not that Sandoval’s win was a surprise. Tuesday night was all but a done deal for the likable governor. He was running against an unknown Democrat who didn’t have much support, much less a campaign.

So Sandoval cruised to an easy victory and celebrated with members of his party, which took every statewide office on the ballot. The GOP also took control of the Legislature, and nationally, Republicans won Congress and several state races.

However, they will find that winning is the easy part. The difficulty will be leading a still badly divided state and nation.

Despite the impressive-looking poll numbers, voters didn’t exactly give Republicans a mandate for their policies or plans. In fact, it’s difficult to say what those policies and plans are given that many Republican candidates avoided debates or forums designed to air ideas and plans.

Nationally, that was apparent as news reports the day after the election described Republicans huddling in Washington to create an agenda for the next year. In other words, they didn’t have one going into the election or didn’t share it with voters.

The election really came down to voter discontent with the status quo, which was aimed at Democratic incumbents.

In Nevada, it’s notable that voters weren’t as energized by candidates or issues as much as they were against them. Question 3, the initiative that would have created a business margin tax to fund education, was overwhelmingly defeated. Question 2, which would have removed the state constitution’s cap on the mining tax, also lost. People are against taxes they see as “job killing.”

Fair enough. But now that the election is over, what do the voters want?

We still hear voters talking about the same issues — education, transportation and public safety. So how do Republicans deal with those issues, much less the many other issues facing the state, like its unfair tax system?

As we have argued for years, the most important issue facing the state is education. We were against Question 3 because we felt it was a bad tax and worse policy. But we were comforted that a group of political, civic and business leaders were exploring new ways to fund education in place of Question 3.

After the overwhelming Republican win, will they continue to do so?

We hope so. The state needs the type of political leadership that sees the issues facing the state are neither Republican nor Democratic issues; they are Nevada issues. The state has been plagued by poor education for too many years, and it is beyond time that leaders came together and found real ways to add needed funding to the classrooms and improve the quality of education.

Unfortunately, the discussion has boiled down into a debate of either-or, as in either more money vs. reform measures. How about a discussion that includes all of the above? Or better yet, how about a more nuanced discussion that involves teachers, administrators, parents and students?

While they’re at it, the state should be discussing not only how to improve education but also how to strengthen the state’s economy by bolstering education.

And don’t forget transportation, or the UNLV medical school, or a stadium for Southern Nevada, or ...

There is plenty to discuss, and now that Republicans have control of Carson City, the governor’s voice is amplified and the mantle of leadership falls squarely on him. The governor shouldn’t slowly start deliberating about an agenda, as his counterparts in Washington are doing, nor should he wait to roll out his plans in his state of the state speech next year.

The real message in the election is voters are tired of what they’ve seen over the past several years in politics. The people need — and deserve — to hear our leaders’ vision, and now that the ballots are counted, they should hear it now.

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