Sue Lowden, former state senator and state Republican Party chairwoman, lost the Nevada Republican senatorial primary to the toast of the Tea Party, Sharron Angle, a former Nevada state assemblywoman. Ms. Angle bucked the trend in other states, where insiders won primary battles. but this was no ordinary race. Nevada is a conservative state with legal prostitution and gambling, the highest percentage of foreclosures in the nation, and massive unemployment. It also had Ms. Lowden, whose idea of health care reform is bartering chickens for medical services, and Ms. Angle, funded by the national Tea Party Express.
Ms. Lowden was cast as a businesswoman, but her success in the private sector was a bit hard to demonstrate since she lost money as a casino owner who profited by cashing in, selling off her businesses for their real estate value. This may be good investment strategy but creates few jobs, a big issue in the present economy.
Ms. Angle captured 40 percent of the vote; Sue Lowden had 26.1 percent, and Danny Tarkanian (son of a popular basketball coach) had 23.3 percent. The victor credited the Tea Party Express with giving her the edge in the election. All she had to do was lie low and let the electorate’s inchoate rage at the state of the world score a win for her. Sharron Angle pitched her against primary campaign against incumbent Democrat Harry Reid, not Republican Lowden. Mr. Reid is the Senate Majority Leader, a visible target.
Ms. Angle may try to maintain her current strategy, keeping a low profile while turning up the heat on Mr. Reid. The general election will be a proxy war, as both candidates receive much of their support from out of state. State delegations with senior senators in leadership positions of power receive many benefits. It remains to be seen whether this matters to Nevadans, or if they prize symbolic statements at the polls over the tangible economic benefits of incumbency.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Tags: "Tea Party", Angle, barter, chickens, Harry Reid, Lowden, Nevada, Republicans, Sharron Angle, Sue Lowen, tea baggers, Tea Party Express, teabaggers
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July 1, 2010 at 11:31 pm
[…] Nevada’s recent Republican primary, Tea Party sweetheart Sharron Angle played chicken with Sue Lowden and won the senatorial candidacy. When Ms. Angle visited Washington to meet with […]