Michael Mishak

Story Archive

Close to 1,700 attend Michelle Obama rally: Monday, Nov. 3, 2008; The mood after today’s Michelle Obama rally was jubilant. Supporters danced to the sounds of Motown and crowded around Obama for pictures.
Campaign comes full circle: Obama back in Vegas area: Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008; On his first visit to Nevada, 21 months ago, when he spoke before 3,500 people at the Clark County Government Center, Sen. Barack Obama decried “slash and burn” political tactics and promised to unite the country around a “new kind of politics.”
A new wave of activism: How a flood of volunteers for the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama could shift Nevada’s balance of power from gaming interests to a group of highly trained liberal activists.; Sunday, Nov. 2, 2008; The old saying in Nevada is that we don’t have two political parties, we have one party — the Gaming Party.
Live Blog: Obama urges local supporters to 'work like our future depends on it': Democratic presidential nominee makes stop in Henderson on final campaign swing through Nevada; Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama just finished, giving a fiery 25-minute speech and the crowd loved it, chanting his name.
Ensign’s criticism of Obama expected, but Palin?: Political observers say many in the GOP have given up on ticket’s chances of winning; Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008; Nevada Sen. John Ensign has taken a slap at his party’s presidential ticket, saying Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin does not have enough experience to be president.
Palin clan makes kindly pitch: Friday, Oct. 31, 2008; Halfway through a door-to-door canvass in a quiet Henderson neighborhood Thursday, Sarah Palin’s mother got distracted.
Family members star in campaigns’ last act: Obama’s wife, McCain’s daughter make late pitches for early votes; Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008; Both presidential candidates are using every available body — starting with their families — to press for early votes and round up volunteers for a final push.
Galvanizing the gun vote: NRA hopes to seal election by painting Obama as no friend of the firearm; Monday, Oct. 27, 2008; The National Rifle Association is pouring money and manpower into Nevada — the state’s 3rd Congressional District in particular — in hopes of defeating Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and carrying Republican Rep. Jon Porter to a fourth term in Congress.
Obama presses edge on the economy: In change from earlier visit, he pitches ‘beer track’ voters; Sunday, Oct. 26, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama spoke at the Doolittle Community Center about a year ago, and the working class crowd began streaming out before he was even finished.
Negative ad strategy may be holding sway: Porter’s relentless -- and misleading -- criticism of Titus has some voters convinced; Thursday, Oct. 23, 2008; As Rep. Jon Porter’s campaign for a fourth term in Congress enters its final days, it is proving to be a remarkably simple one.
Clinton makes his case for Obama: Former president: Economy, health care are reasons not to vote McCain; Monday, Oct. 20, 2008; As Bill Clinton traveled the talk-show circuit last month in advance of his charitable foundation’s annual meeting, the former president’s passion for philanthropy was much more evident than his passion for Barack Obama.
Live Blog: Bill Clinton stumps for Obama in Las Vegas: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008; Bill Clinton finished working the audience at Chaparral High School not long ago after speaking for about 30 minutes to a crowd the Obama campaign estimated at 2,500 people.
Voters bring passion to polls: As early voting starts, many express strong opinions about choices; Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008; Nevada voters passionate enough to cast ballots on the first day of voting said in overwhelming numbers Saturday that they favored Democrat Barack Obama, according to interviews at voting sites manned by reporters for the Las Vegas Sun.
Election could help fulfill union dream, management nightmare: Sunday, Oct. 19, 2008; Around here it’s called “The Las Vegas Dream.”
‘Terrorist’ ad called reckless: Experts: State GOP’s attack on Obama may stoke violence; Saturday, Oct. 18, 2008; A Nevada Republican Party mail piece that accuses Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama of having “close ties to (a) domestic terrorist” is reckless and inflammatory, historians say, because it could stir dark passions, including a desire to inflict violence on Obama.
Bill Clinton to campaign for Obama in Las Vegas: Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008; Former President Bill Clinton will be in Nevada Sunday and Monday to campaign on behalf of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Fiercely contested race comes to living rooms: Porter, Titus trade jabs on financial industry rescue package, each other’s past votes in televised congressional debate; Thursday, Oct. 16, 2008; Three weeks before Election Day, the candidates vying for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District seat are playing against type, trying to change the dynamic in one of the most competitive races in the country at a time of extraordinary economic unease.
GOP appeals for money to avoid 'stealing of elections': Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2008; The Republican National Committee is using the specter of voter fraud to raise money to ensure the November elections are "clean and fair."
Heavy turnout for last-minute voter registration: Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2008; With tonight’s 9 o’clock deadline to register to vote fast approaching, more than 150 people were in line outside the Clark County Elections Department at 5 p.m. today to add their names to voter rolls, and more were streaming in.
Starting in House as party man, Porter changed with the times: Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008; Republican Rep. Jon Porter lobbed a partisan grenade across the Capitol in January 2006.
Voter fraud isn’t what — by some — it’s cracked up to be: ACORN missteps unlikely to affect election; Sunday, Oct. 12, 2008; At first blush, Secretary of State Ross Miller and Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto struck a blow for democracy last week when they staged a raid on a group working to register low-income people to vote in next month’s election.
Obama rally brings Timberlake to town: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; Justin Timberlake will headline a rally and canvass kickoff for Sen. Barack Obama Saturday.
To close ranks around Obama, labor hits streets: Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; With a month before Election Day, the mood in the Culinary Union’s large second-story hall is urgent.
Senate Democrat still crossing his fingers: Filibuster-proof majority is tantalizingly close; Thursday, Oct. 9, 2008; As slim as Republican Sen. John Ensign’s chances are of stopping Senate losses this fall as head of his party’s election committee, his counterpart, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, isn’t predicting Democrats will hit the coveted 60-seat threshold yet.
Claim Palin was union member hard to pin down: Obvious sources don’t know, but that isn’t end of the story; Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008; When Sen. John McCain introduced Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in August, he described her as a former union member, someone who “understands the problems, the hopes and the values of working people.”
Porter amiable, if low key, in state Senate: Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008; The Legislature was finished with its business — or so it thought.
Romney visit rallies more than GOP base: Area’s Mormons could be the difference in tight race for Nevada’s votes; Sunday, Oct. 5, 2008; Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney visited Boulder City last week to rally the Republican base for Sen. John McCain and Rep. Jon Porter.
Romney, in Boulder City, roots for McCain, Palin and Porter: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2008; The onetime presidential candidate, who won Nevada’s Republican caucus in a landslide, received a standing ovation from a crowd of about 150 people gathered at the town’s high school theater. “I know a lot of you were hoping I would be at the top of the ticket,” Romney said, interrupted by applause. “But I know when my time on the stage is over.”
District C commission candidates defend fiscal prudence in debate: Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008; Republican Assemblywoman Valerie Weber attacked Democratic Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown for what she has called his “misguided priorities.” Chief among them, she said, was his heavy campaign spending on political consultants.
From Boulder City to Washington: Porter: Time as mayor helped prepare him for bigger challenges; Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008; In his first ad of his reelection campaign, Rep. Jon Porter stands next to a field of gleaming solar tiles and says he helped build the world’s third-largest solar facility right here in Nevada.
One voter at a time: Volunteers go door to door, salon to salon, for McCain, Obama; Monday, Sept. 22, 2008; What a day: Country clubs and nail salons, doors opened and doors slammed, new voters and old hacks.
Porter: Played in rock bands, learned about responsibility early: Sunday, Sept. 21, 2008; In the early 1970s, when Jon Porter was in high school, he played keyboard in a band called Lazy River. As it turns out, the band’s name serves as an apt metaphor for Porter’s early life, growing up in Humboldt, Iowa, a small farming town of about 4,600 people.
Wall Street runs through Las Vegas, campaigns: On the stump: Obama moves to pin turmoil on McCain, Republicans; Thursday, Sept. 18, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama appeared at Cashman Field on Wednesday, but a more appropriate spot might have been four miles down the road on the lonely grounds of Echelon. That partially finished multibillion-dollar Strip resort, paralyzed because the money is gone, has become a symbol of Wall Street’s far-reaching impact on Las Vegas.
Obama takes hard swings at McCain's statements on economy: Democratic nominee draws 11,000 to Las Vegas campaign speech; Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama came out swinging, literally, today, speaking to a crowd of thousands of Nevadans at Cashman Center.
Less a Democratic voting bloc than ever: What Sen. Joe Lieberman’s visit to Temple Beth Sholom tells us about changes in the Jewish constituency.; Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2008; Rabbi Felipe Goodman looked on Monday as Sen. Joe Lieberman, a onetime Democrat turned independent, spoke to his congregation on behalf of Republican presidential candidate John McCain.
Goodman, who has presided over Temple Beth Sholom for the past decade, has never seen his congregation more polarized.
Richardson says Hispanic voters are key to Obama win: Sunday, Sept. 14, 2008; Democrats are realizing that winning the Hispanic vote is more critical than ever if they hope to carry Nevada in November.
Ensign: Don’t color state blue just yet: Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008; Republicans say the presidential race in Nevada will be decided on three big issues and one big personality.
Tackling race to negate it: In break with Obama’s approach, union leaders broach skin color in campaign to assuage doubts about candidate among rank and file; Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008; Not long after Sen. Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination for president, union bosses for the building trades realized they needed to better understand their members’ complicated views of the Illinois senator.
Nevada Democrats’ machine is well-oiled: McCain camp denies it’s ‘behind the eight ball’; Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008; Like two heavyweight boxers staring each other down at a weigh-in — but with one boasting a longer reach — the Democratic and Republican parties are primed for an eight-week fight to win Nevada in November.
Heller: ‘Western’ ticket good for my bid: McCain-Palin will resonate in Nevada races, congressional incumbent says; Friday, Sept. 5, 2008; Republican Rep. Dean Heller said Thursday his party’s nomination of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin for vice president this week completes what he sees as a “Western” ticket that will help carry him to reelection in November.
Big gun comes out for Titus: Thursday, Sept. 4, 2008; Dina Titus gracefully accepted the endorsement of the state teachers union Wednesday in her race for Congress, pledging to overhaul No Child Left Behind and increase access to college educations.
Slap on state party smarts in a state McCain needs: Friday, Aug. 29, 2008; With Republicans descending on St. Paul, Minn., to nominate Ariz. Sen. John McCain, his organization must be wondering what kind of support he’ll find in Nevada now that the national party has deemed the state party inept.
HISTORY HITS HOME AS OBAMA ACCEPTS: In Vegas, cheers rise, tears fall for first black nominee; Friday, Aug. 29, 2008; For its strident politics and passion and the history of the moment, Sen. Barack Obama’s acceptance speech Thursday enthralls his supporters at an overflowing — and tearful — TV watching party and brings deep satisfaction to a veteran civil rights activist and her niece watching quietly in their living room.
How one die-hard Clinton supporter is swept from acceptance to conviction: Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2008; Anne Zarate listened to Hillary Clinton on Tuesday night, and remembered how angry she was as a Clinton delegate to the Nevada Democratic Party’s state convention in May.
This time, rural Nevada isn’t looking so red on its face: Democrats’ playbook narrowing traditional gap; Sunday, Aug. 24, 2008; A year ago Cindy Trigg called a meeting in White Pine County to organize rural Democrats. Two people showed up.
Nevada political roundup: Ad targets McCain on Yucca: Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008; Sen. Barack Obama's campaign, with the help of Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, unveiled its second ad on Yucca Mountain today.
If she’s a flip-flopper on drilling, so is McCain: Porter attack puts him at odds with his party’s standard-bearer; Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008; Republican Rep. Jon Porter has taken to calling his Democratic challenger, Dina Titus, a “flip-flopper” on the issue of offshore oil drilling, which both candidates support.
Gloves are off in critical race: Hopefuls get to ‘fun part' fast in pursuit of 3rd District prize; Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2008; Republican Rep. Jon Porter and Democratic challenger Dina Titus slung barbs at each other over campaign donations, energy policy, the war in Iraq and immigration policy.
The changing West: Monday, Aug. 18, 2008
Washoe is must-win ground: Democrats have narrowed registration gap in important northern county; Sunday, Aug. 17, 2008; When Sen. Barack Obama visits Reno today he’ll be campaigning in a region widely seen as the key battleground for winning Nevada in November.