Nevada Democrats are 'revved up' — and widening their registration lead in Vegas: Jon Ralston

On Monday, Jon Ralston, the editor of The Nevada Independent and one of the foremost experts on Nevada politics, reported that Democrats have reactivated their "machine" in Clark County, the location of Las Vegas and the most populous region of the state — widening their voter registration advantage after several weeks of Republicans gaining on them.

The GOP had been gaining slightly due in large part to the coronavirus pandemic canceling voter drives and other political activity by powerful organizations like the Culinary Union. But that appears to have reversed.

"The Democrats have once again surmounted 153,000 in their lead over Republicans in Clark County," wrote Ralston. "They have picked up more than 500 voters since last week. That's not huge, but the Republicans had been gaining for a month or more. Remember, though, the lead is inflated by about 14,000 inactive voters because of a technical error by the Clark registrar — those voters are on the rolls, but they are not expected to vote."

The bottom line, wrote Ralston, is that "the Dem machine, from the party to outside groups, is revved up again, that could make a substantial difference" — although he cautioned that this year, Republicans have a narrow lead in registered voters in Washoe County, home to Reno and Sparks and increasingly a bellwether.