The Future of Nevada Democrats is Female

Cross posted from Turn Tahoe Blue. Might this translate into success for Sen. Hillary Clinton in the Nevada Caucus?

Women are clearly on the rise in Nevada politics. Especially so on the Democratic side. Consider the following: in the 2006 elections Democrats nominated women in all three congressional districts, four out of six candidates for statewide office were women, including Governor.

While Jill Derby (NV-02) and Tessa Hafen (NV-03) didn't win their respective races, they did come pretty close and it's quite possible that Dean Heller and Jon Porter will have to run against female candidates again in 2008.

Women have captured high offices in Nevada in the past, though they were mostly Republican: former Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich (NV-02, 1983-97), former Treasurer Patty Cafferata (1983-87), former Lt. Governors Sue Wagner (1991-95) and Lorraine Hunt (1999-2007), Secretary of State Cheryl Lau (1991-95). The only Democratic women previously elected to statewide office were Superintendent of Public Instruction Mildred Bray (1937-51) and Frankie Sue Del Papa who was Secretary of State (1987-91) and Attorney General (1991-2003). There has not been a female US Senator yet, the only Democratic nominee was Mary Gojack in 1990.

Recently female Democrats were much more successful in being nominated and elected than their Republican counterparts. Currently, three out of four Democratic (six total) constitutional officers in Nevada are women: Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, State Treasurer Kate Marshall, and State Controller Kim Wallin. Las Vegas is represented in Congress by Shelley Berkley. The Nevada State Democratic Party has recently elected a woman, Jill Derby, as its chair. Among the five-person leadership are three more women: 2nd Vice Chair Teresa Benitez-Thompson, Secretary A'shanti Gholar, and Treasurer Jan Churchill.

In the State Assembly, Barbara Buckley was recently elected Speaker, the first woman in that position in Nevada's history. Majority Whip Sheila Leslie and Assistant Majority Whip Debbie Smith are among the five person Majority Leadership in the Assembly, while the Democratic leadership team in the State Senate is entirely comprised of women: Minority Floor Leader Dina Titus, Minority Whip Valerie Wiener, and Assistant Minority Floor Leader Bernice Mathews. As far as I could find out, no other legislatative body in the country has an entirely female leadership, at least on the Democratic side.

10 out 27 Democratic Assembly members are women (37%) and 5 out of 10 Democratic State Senators are women, making up 50%.

Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in a recent poll at Helluva Heller, asking who should run against Heller on the Democratic side, out of the seven mentioned possibilities five were women: Kate Marshall, Debbie Smith, Jill Derby, Sheila Leslie, and Teresa Benitez Thompson and the female candidates were in the lead at last count.

When you consider all this, it is only a matter of time when Nevada will send another woman to the House, the first woman to the US Senate and elect its first Governor.

You can read more about the history of women in Nevada politics here.

Go to Turn Tahoe Blue to see photos of the women mentioned.

Richardson to Address Carson City Dems on April 29

Gov. Bill Richardson will be in Carson City on April 29th for a fundraiser for local Democrats:

Presidential candidate Governor Bill Richardson will be the guest
speaker at the Carson City Democrats annual Jefferson-Jackson Dinner at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 29th, at The Plaza Hotel and Conference
Center, 211 E. Ninth St.

Richardson, recently re-elected to a second term as New Mexico's
Governor, has previously served 15 years in Congress and as Secretary
of Energy and Ambassador to the United Nations under President Bill
Clinton. He has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize
for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen and
political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq and Cuba. Governor Richardson
recently negotiated a 60-day cease fire in war-torn Darfur following direct talks with rebel leaders and the President of Sudan.

Also scheduled to speak at the dinner are Nevada State Treasurer Kate
Marshall and Jill Derby, Chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party.

The event is a fundraiser for the Carson City Democratic Central
Committee. The cost is $125 for a hosted cocktail reception and dinner
or $60 for no-host cocktails and dinner. To make reservations or for
more information please contact Carson City Democratic Headquarters at
775.841.3367 or visit the CCDCC website at www.carsoncitydems.org.

NV Dems Pull Fox Debate!

Wow, this comes rather unexpected. But sometimes these things always happen on a Friday afternoon in the hope it'll be buried with the weekend papers and not resurface on Monday. However, I just cannot believe that will happen with this story:

"Nevada Dems Nix Fox Debate" writes The Politico. They had no comment yet from either the State Party or Fox News. One can assume though that after all the protests, the distancing done by Harry Reid, and Edwards pulling out this might have sealed the deal:

FOX News Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes gave the progressive activists more ammunition on Thursday when he jokingly compared Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, the junior senator from Illinois, to Osama bin Laden.

This might be hurtful to the State Party in the short run. However with Tom Collins leaving at the end of the month and Jill Derby most likely to take over, the party will get over this.

What do I believe, though, is that Fox News will be deeply hurt by this. "Fair and Balanced" is definitely done with.

UPDATE:

From Kos:

So it's official, though I'm still waiting for an official statement from the Nevada Democratic Party and maybe even Harry Reid.

The Big Winner: the Progressive movement, which came together at all levels -- netroots, grassroots, and even some institutional players.

The other Big Winner: John Edwards, whose early leadership dropping out of the debate spurred intense media coverage (hence pressure) and fueled its demise.

Snatched victory from the jaws of defeat: Richardson, who announced he was pulling out just an hour or so before the official demise of the debate. He would've been left isolated, the only candidate to agree to a now-dead debate. Spared by the hair on his chinny chin chin.

Mild loser: The other campaigns, especially Obama, who could've shown some leadership and hit back at the network that has been tormenting them with non-stop smear attacks. Instead, they played it safe.

The Big Loser: Fox News, which will now face a whole new round of stories discussing their "conservative bias" and propaganda function. For a network that wanted this debate to obscure their partisan purpose, this is the worst of all worlds.

Next up: Will the Congressional Black Caucus team up with Fox for its own debate?

UPDATE 2:

Apparently Fox News is such a good news organization that it doesn't respond to journalists, like The Politico's Ryan Grim, but is very quick to give something to the right wing Drudge Report (and, yes, I hate to quote him):

“We have not received official word from the Nevada State Democratic Party disclosing a change in debate plans. Rumors are being circulated and if true, news organizations will want to think twice before getting involved in the Nevada Democratic Caucus which appears to be controlled by radical fringe out-of-state interest groups, not the Nevada Democratic Party. In the past, Moveon.org has said they ‘own’ the Democratic party—while most Democrats don’t agree with that, we’re waiting to see if that’s the case in Nevada.” -- David Rhodes, Vice President, Fox News...

That Fox News is lashing out like this and is doing so this quickly just proves how much this hurts them.

DKos Massacre: Tom Collins Goes Out with a Bang!

One could say it was gutsy by Tom Collins to go on Daily Kos on Friday night. One could but then again one only has to look at the reaction and is only left to say: Ouch!

In his Daily Kos diary entitled Message from Nevada Party Chairman regarding Fox debate Collins defended the decision to have a presidential debate in August aired by Fox News. His diary received more than 500 comments and let's just say it wasn't a pretty picture though some were sympathetic to him. To get a sense of it all take a look at the six comments Tom Collins left on his diary and the reactions to them (one, two, three, four, five, six).

His diary also wasn't well received by the front page bloggers at MyDD and Daily Kos. Chris Bowers in an open letter to the leading Nevada Democrats:

We are not a bunch of idiots who can be placated simply by repeatedly stating the same talking point no matter what question we are asking you. How did that work out for you in your Dailykos diary yesterday, anyway? You may think we act like a bunch of snotty know-it-alls, but believe me when I write that during an episode like this, that feeling is absolutely mutual.

Kagro X over at Daily Kos meanwhile quoted Tom Collins and wondered whether Nevada might need a new party chairman come August being unaware of the fact that Collins has decided (prior to this whole debate) to not run again in March. Meanwhile former congressional candidate Jill Derby has decided to run to replace Collins.

If you think this has already gotten a little out of hand. Well, you haven't heard from the grand old Jon Ralston, yet, have you? Well, he has gotten with the spirit and has just called me a terrorist. Thanks for the honors!

I have a feeling this story won't go away all that soon. BTW, where's the almighty Harry? All silent on the Searchlight front?

Obama Hires Schwartz and Cohen in Nevada

The candidates are starting to take Nevada seriously. After Bill Richardson, Barack Obama is the second candidate to hire a staff in Nevada.

And not just any staff. His campaign in Nevada will be run by former Nevada Democratic Party executive director Alyson Schwartz and former Jill Derby campaign manager David Cohen (AP).

In my opinion, this is a coup for Obama. Especially David Cohen will bring valuable insights to Obama's campaign having run one of the best campaigns in Nevada last year. He ran a smart and witty campaign for Jill Derby's run for Congress which was so successful that it drew national attention and almost cost the Republicans to lose one of their safest seats in the country.

This (yet very small) team is strong enough to not only help Obama win the caucus in Nevada but might be much more valuable should he win the Democratic nomination, as David Cohen knows how to win votes in the rural areas of Nevada. Should Obama be the nominee, Schwartz and Cohen will be an assett for winning the state in the general election.