VP nominee Mike Pence calls on Reno voters to ‘come home’ to GOP
RENO — Republican vice presidential candidate Mike Pence made a return trip to Reno on Wednesday, urging the party faithful to vote early and encourage their friends and neighbors to “come home” to the GOP and elect Donald Trump.
With 13 days left before Election Day, Pence told a crowd of around 400 that the presidential contest “isn’t a choice between left or right, Republican or Democrat,” but rather between “up or down.”
It was the Indiana governor’s second campaign trip to the Biggest Little City in a week, a trip that underscored Nevada — and Washoe County in particular — as important battleground arenas.
Pence said Trump was “winning hearts and minds” in the final weeks of the campaign and asserted the GOP ticket was gaining support among independent voters and some Democrats.
Recent polls show Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton easing away from Trump in Nevada as the election nears. But the GOP in Washoe County leads Democrats in active voter registrations by about 3,700, making it key territory for Republicans.
Pence also urged voters to support Republican Rep. Joe Heck in his tight U.S. Senate race against Democratic nominee Catherine Cortez Masto.
And he sought to unify the rift between Trump and other Republican leaders, some of whom have publicly shunned the presidential nominee. Heck, too, distanced himself from Trump after video surfaced of the real estate tycoon talking disparagingly of women as easy targets for his sexual advances.
“Come home to elect Joe Heck to the United States Senate and re-elect Republican majorities in Congress,” Pence said. “And come home to be part of a movement in this country that will make sure Hillary Clinton will never be elected president of the United States of America.”
Democrats in Nevada hold an 89,000 registration advantage, mostly concentrated in the urban metropolis surrounding Las Vegas. The rest of the state is largely rural and dominated by Republicans.
Early voting began Oct. 22 and runs through Nov. 4. So far more than 231,000 voters have cast ballots, with Democrats leading in the early get-out-the-vote ground game by roughly 25,000.
“Just leave here today and go vote,” Pence told the crowd.
The state Democratic Party staged an event before the Pence rally, where local party leaders dismissed the GOP ticket and voter engagement efforts.
“With less than two weeks until Election Day, Nevada Republicans are scrambling and another divisive rally for Mike Pence won’t change that,” Chris Wicker, vice chairman of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement.
“While the Trump campaign falls apart and Congressman Heck hits the panic button, Northern Nevada Democrats are mobilizing voters to cast their ballots and turn our state blue,” he said.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.
