Too Close to Call? Too Slow to Count?

Nevada is getting swingy again, after several election cycles of generally going donkey blue.

Current polls in the Joe Lombardo / Steve Sisolak duel give the Republican the slimmest of leads for the governor’s race.

Meanwhile, the Congressional District 2 we live in, which has been solidly red for years the way it’s drawn, has Mark Amodei with a commanding advantage. The only Nevada House seat looking like a sure win for the Democrats currently is District 4 with incumbent Steve Horsford. The other two, Districts 1 and 3, are close and could go either way. Nationally, Republicans are expected to reclaim the House, which would open the door to Hunter Biden related investigations.

In the closely watched Catherine Cortez Masto / Adam Laxalt Senate race, it’s the same scenario as for the statewide gubernatorial race, with the incumbent Democrat ever so slightly behind.

That showdown could tilt the balance of the Senate, with Republicans having a current edge to get a majority in the upper chamber as well. With stocks tanking and abortion access less in the headlines, Republican insiders are liking their chances.

Senate control could come down to Washoe County, which was notoriously slow in counting the ballots in 2020. Mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day can be counted up to four days after, and if results are super close, it could take time before a conclusive result is announced. The slow counting opens the floodgates to conspiracies, anger and lawsuits. Sure, democracy is messy, but does it really need to be this much of a mess?

Local elections don’t have reliable polling, and could get forecasted results sooner if clear margins emerge early in the vote counting. Incumbents seem to be the likely favorites in most local races, in terms of recent voting patterns, but a surprise upset is always possible.

Our Reporting Highlights This Week

Ballot questions are also being decided, and our citizen’s contribution this week was a queer Latina urging a yes on Ballot Question 1.

We featured climate cafes starting at the Reno Food Systems farm to address eco-anxiety.

Girls on the Run Sierras (above) are preparing for their big yearly event and need volunteers.

Our podcast is with Victoria Scott, taking pictures of Reno before some of its uniqueness disappears.