• Brian Sandoval,  Mitt Romney,  President 2012,  Rick Perry

    President 2012: Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval Endorses Rick Perry for President

    September 14, 2011 /

    Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, right, talks with Washington governor Christine Gregoire before the start of a panel discussion on energy at the National Clean Energy Summit, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2011

    A very important pick up for Rick Perry.

    Rick Perry has picked up a key endorsement in his bid for the 2012 Republican nomination. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval announced late Tuesday he’ll back the Texas governor in the race, giving Perry an important show of support in a key early GOP caucus state and likely swing state in 2012.

    The move isn’t so surprising: Perry and Sandoval have long been considered close political allies. But Sandoval’s endorsement is a blow to Mitt Romney’s campaign.

    The former Massachusetts governor won the Republican caucuses in the state in 2008 and needs a win there again next year to further his hopes of winning the 2012 nomination.

    Romney had been wooing Sandoval for months in hopes of securing an endorsement. Indeed, Romney has spent more time in Nevada than his rivals in recent months, visiting the state just last week where he delivered a speech in North Las Vegas detailing his jobs plan. The ex-governor has received the backing of two other key Republicans in the state—Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki and Rep. Joe Heck, who both backed him in 2008.

    But since joining the race last month, Perry has suggested he wouldn’t cede the state to Romney. Sandoval’s support is a major boost for the Texas governor, given how popular the top Nevada official is with GOP voters in the state. Sandoval is also considered a rising star in GOP political circles and, as a Hispanic, could help with Perry’s push to woo Latino voters.

    “Gov. Rick Perry has the strongest record of job creation, fiscal discipline, and executive branch leadership among the presidential candidates,” Sandoval said in a statement Tuesday.  “As a governor, Rick Perry created a tremendous blueprint for job creation and as president, I know he will get America working again.”

    This will force Romney to defend Nevada where every one considered him a favorite to win the caucuses. There is a large LDS Mormon population in Nevada and they considered to all come out for Mitt Romney.

    Rick Perry will probably test a television media strategy that will carry him into South Carolina and Florida in the following few weeks after the Nevada caucuses.

    The Hispanic link with Sandoval cannot be go unrecognized as Perry has been accused by conservative pundits as being soft on illegal immigration, after signing a Texas Dream Act in Texas that gives reduced college tuition to the children of illegal immigrants. The question remains as to whether Romney will call out Perry on immigration in the Nevada campaign.

  • Brian Sandoval,  Harry Reid,  Rory Reid

    NV-Sen: Harry Reid Plays Hispanic Race Card – Puts Foot in Mouth Again

    August 11, 2010 /

    Nevada Democrat Senator Harry Reid in Nevada yesterday

    Remember it was Harry Reid who dllcared the Iraq War was lost before the Bush/Petraeus SURGE. So, like Vice President Joe Biden, Reid puts his foot in his mouth again.

    While campaigning in Nevada Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told an audience of mostly Hispanic voters: “I don’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a Republican, okay. Do I need to say more?”

    Reid’s racially-charged comments come as the Nevada Democrat is
    trying to boost Hispanic turnout in his bid for reelection this
    November. Polls show, however, that Reid’s positions on immigration are
    very unpopular with Nevada voters in general. Reid supports the Obama administration’s lawsuit against Arizona over its immigration law, but 63 percent of Nevada voters oppose the lawsuit, according to a Rasmussen poll.

    Reid voted against a measure to complete a 700-mile fence along the Mexican border in May, but 68 percent of voters nationally support building a border fence, according to Rasmussen.

    Now, GOP Senate challenger Sharron Angle will be running even MORE ads against the vulnerable Senate Majority Leader and highlighting his unpopular stance on illegal immigration. And, how many white, particularly Mormon voters did Reid turn off by playing the race card?

    The television spots are being produced as this is posted – count on it.

    The statement form the Angle campaign:

    “Reid has said he’ll do more if re-elected–apparently that means more insensitive racial comments, more gaffes, more lame attempts to distract from what he has done to destroy the Nevada economy. With that said, I suppose Nevadans should just be glad he didn’t say anything racist about Hispanic people’s skin tone or ‘dialect’ this time.”

    Also, I wonder how this will affect Harry Reid’s son, Rory’s campaign for Nevada governor? Rory Reid’s opponent is Brian Sandoval who is a Hispanic Republican, who, by the way, is leading in the polls.

    A double FAMILY REID GAFFE.

    But, true to form, Harry Reid is trying to spin his way out of the GAFFE.

    Good luck with that……