Nevada and Idaho, Two Peas in a Pod?  

Having spent the last two weeks being completely immersed in Nevada and Nevada politics, you learn some things pretty quickly. When people tell you about the independent/libertarian nature of voters in the West, they are RIGHT, even in a swing state such as Nevada.

I guess I was surprised about how libertarian Nevada was and is because when I think of Nevada I think of Las Vegas and Reno, two populated areas, and neglect the rest of the state which is, from what I have been told, just as conservative as rural Idaho. WOW!

Let's get back to Las Vegas. Lots of progressive/Democratic organizations out here. Two Drinking Liberally chapters, 2 Democracy for America chapters, National Organization for Women chapter in Southern Nevada and of course there is the state chapter, lots of national groups with local contacts/chapers, such as MoveOn, American's United for Change, no College Dems groups here, but Young Dems, the county has a young professional Dems group, different Democratic clubs for the different parts of the area (Red Rock, Henderson, Paradise, etc), and much more. Most nights of the week I am usually at some type of progressive organizational meeting. It's great and refreshing!

So it is very nice to be in a liberal area, but not so great when you look past Vegas, except that means that the Democratic Party has a lot of room for growth in the West and that is exciting!