OPINION:
Sen. Harry Reid personally intervened to shut down a move to switch Nevada elections from caucuses to a statewide primary, which political analysts say is a blow to Jeb Bush, who is making the state a key part of his yet-to-be-announced presidential run.
The state legislature adjourned Monday without taking a vote on the proposal, likely killing the plan. Some Nevada Republicans supported it, but its passage in the full Assembly was in doubt so leaders tabled the measure.
The move came after Reid, the U.S. Senate minority leader, called Harvey Munford, the only Democrat in the Assembly, and urged him to drop his support for the proposal, the New York Times reported.
“When Nevada was moved up in the process as an early state it was contingent on Nevada as a caucus state, not a primary,” Kristen Orthman, a spokeswoman for Mr. Reid, said, according to the Times. “With this bill we [Nevada Democrats] felt it jeopardized that status because it created uncertainty.”
Jeb Bush, still not an official candidate, has been looking past Iowa and even New Hampshire to Nevada, which is now fourth in the lineup of presidential nomination contests. Bush, who has already made two trips there, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who has made one, were both said to favor the primary setup there.
The Assembly session ended without a vote and few expect Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Republican, to call lawmakers back into work.
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