While many may consider Nevada a "fly over" state, it'll be a mistake to consider it a "by pass" state as it holds the nation's first caucus or primary vote west of the Mississippi. Nevada's voting results and patterns in Las Vegas (big city), Reno (small city/suburban) and its vast rural areas are certainly more representative of the West than, say, Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina. A week-end voting schedule encourages high turn-out - and, hopefully, reliable representation - as it beats rushing to the polls on a wintry Tuesday night. Pundits and seers will be tested in Nevada as the state - from what I can tell, anyway - has no traditions or voting behavior that helps make predictions possible - such as Iowa (organized get the voters to the sites), the encyclopedic snows of New Hampshire (retail campaigning) or South Carolina (the conservative "firewall" that destroys dislked candidates such as McCain in 2000). Sen. Harry Reid, the state's senior senator and Senate Majority Leader, compels Democratic candidate participation - interestingly, the Nevada GOP moved its caucus to the Democrats' date.
Curious to see how Romney does in a state where gambling and prostitution are legalized. Sen. Reid is a Mormon and Nevada borders Utah, Mormon church headquarters.
