COMMENTARY: Nevada’s Republican candidates ignored ways to inspire their base voters
Here is the third installment of my assessment of the Nevada GOP tragedy. Again, it’s not just about the Nevada Republican Party. These are lessons for the entire country.
The issue was confirmed by national conservative radio talk superstar Bill Cunningham. Bill and I spoke a few days ago. Let’s first compare the results from Nevada and Ohio.
In Nevada, the GOP lost almost every major office. Democrats also strengthened their majorities in the state Senate and Assembly. It’s all painted blue. In Ohio, the GOP won every major office and kept majorities in the state Senate and House. It’s all painted red. So what caused such disparate results?
Cunningham has a local Cincinnati radio talk show, as well as a popular national talk show. His local Cincinnati show is a radio blowtorch that dominates the Ohio airwaves.
My show is the only afternoon drive-time radio show that reaches the entire state of Nevada. Like Cunningham’s show, it’s a Nevada conservative blowtorch.
But here’s the difference. In Ohio, every single GOP candidate appeared as a guest on Cunningham’s show multiple times. They understood it was the most effective way to reach Ohio conservatives and motivate the GOP base.
The same Ohio GOP candidates not only appeared nonstop on Bill’s show, but they bought large advertising campaigns on the show. Between the candidate interviews and the nonstop ads, all Ohio conservative voters heard 24/7 was these GOP candidates. That’s called branding.
The GOP won virtually everything up and down the ticket. Bill Cunningham played a large role. He got the message out to Ohio GOP voters.
In Nevada, our GOP campaign managers and consultants are … how do I say this nicely? Dumb and dumber. Or maybe they were trying to lose. Maybe they were on the Reid machine payroll. Because no one could be this dumb on purpose.
My producer, Andrew Paul, tried repeatedly for months to contact every major GOP candidate in the state — in particular, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and gubernatorial candidate Adam Laxalt. Their consultants had no interest.
Usually they didn’t even return the calls. When they did, they said their candidates had no time for interviews and “no money for radio.”
No money for conservative talk radio, the only platform on Earth to impress, motivate and brand your name to your own base? Dean Heller couldn’t find eight minutes for an interview to introduce himself to his own base? And he spent tens of millions, but he didn’t have a dollar for radio advertising to his own base?
Laxalt was about 1 percent better. He spent virtually nothing and made one appearance — at 3:30 p.m. on Election Day. Talk about a day late and a dollar short. Your own base never heard from you.
Result? The Ohio GOP won everything. The Nevada GOP lost everything. Think there might be a connection?
Every GOP consultant in this state should be banned from ever touching another Republican campaign anywhere in America.
Contact Wayne Allyn Root at Wayne@ROOTforAmerica.com. Hear or watch the nationally syndicated “WAR Now: The Wayne Allyn Root Show” from 3 to 6 p.m. daily at 790 Talk Now and at 5 p.m. on Newsmax TV.
