Vice President Joe Biden smiles during a round-table discussion, on raising the minimum wage, with politicians and business owners at Casa Don Juan on Monday, Oct. 6, 2014, in downtown Las Vegas.
Published Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014 | 10:26 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2014 | 12:42 p.m.
Underscoring the trouble Nevada Democrats are in this election cycle, Vice President Joe Biden will be in Las Vegas on Saturday to try to get Democrats to the polls.
Biden will attend a political event, but no further details about the event were released today.
It will be the vice president’s second visit to the city in a month. He spoke with supporters and workers at a Mexican restaurant earlier in October to tout Democratic campaign issues, such as raising the minimum wage.
His second visit, first reported by Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston, comes the same week former President Bill Clinton was in Las Vegas to rally Democrats.
Democrats running in once-safe seats, such as Rep. Steven Horsford, are suddenly in a fight for their political careers ahead of Tuesday’s midterm election.
Since early voting began Oct. 18, Republicans have been showing up at the polls in numbers that have surprised insiders in their own party. It’s a trend that’s reflected nationally as well in an election with an unpopular Democratic president.
Republicans have about a 20,000-vote lead over Democrats across the state. Making matters worse, Republicans are just about 2,000 votes behind Democrats in early voting in Democratic-stronghold Clark County, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office.
The numbers are a reversal from statewide voter registration figures. Democrats hold a 60,000-person advantage over Republicans, 40 percent to 35 percent.
As of Tuesday night, just 17 percent of Nevada’s electorate had cast a ballot early, although generally about half the state does.
Biden’s visit Saturday will happen as early voting closes, a sign that Democrats could be hoping to rally big on Tuesday, the actual election day.
It seems the entire cavalry of Washington Democrats is focused on helping Horsford.
The House Democrats’ campaign arm announced Wednesday it is spending a last-minute $360,000 on Las Vegas airwaves to attack Hardy.
The ad is in addition to money the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw into the race last week to boost Horsford’s own positive ads.
The House Republicans’ campaign arm is also spending money in the race, coordinating with Hardy’s campaign for a positive ad. It could consider spending more money.
This flurry of last-minute TV ads was kicked off by Crossroads GPS, a Republican PAC affiliated with former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove that announced Oct. 21 it was spending more than $1 million on TV and radio ads against Horsford.
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