Nevada political roundup: Obama to visit Nevada Sunday (UPDATED)

By Michael Mishak

Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008 | 4:20 p.m.

Updated at 4:20 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama will return to Nevada Sunday, his campaign just announced. He'll be appearing in Reno. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee will also hit New Mexico on Monday. More details to follow.

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Originally posted at 1:21 p.m.

The Sun's Dave Schwartz examines the "punch from the right" taken by the Nevada Republican Party in Tuesday's primary. According to the story:

"Each race, of course, had its own dynamic. But it became clear that the party’s most conservative members asserted themselves in a combination of Ron Paul fever, President Bush fatigue and malaise in the moderate wing."

-- The unraveling makes national news in The Washington Post.

If Republicans are hurting nationally this election year, there may be few places where the pain is quite as acute, or has arrived as quickly, as Nevada, where a confluence of problems has left a once-potent state party in tatters.

-- Republican Rep. Jon Porter and Democratic challenger Dina Titus officially enter the general election campaign in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, offering some lines that might be familiar to voters who have been here for a few cycles.

-- As for a major issue in that race, the Iraq war, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics finds that troops deployed abroad favor Democratic Sen. Barack Obama over his Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, when it comes to campaign donations.

The analysis finds Obama has received six times as much money from troops deployed overseas at the time of their contributions than has McCain.

-- One bright spot for Republicans: Brian Scroggins' county commission win over disqualified incumbent Bruce Woodbury makes the GOP's life easier. If Woodbury had won, the party's central committee would have had to have picked a candidate.

-- The presidential race here remains essentially static, according to Rasmussen Reports monthly tracking poll.

-- Democratic candidate Jill Derby unveils an energy plan, which, like Titus', provides for some offshore oil drilling. The plan, the R-J reports, would require oil companies to show they are developing their existing federal leases.

-- Congressional Quarterly upgrades Derby's rematch against Republican Rep. Dean Heller in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District from "Republican favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican." It also put the race for CD3 into its toss-up category.

--Prominent labor groups are seeking a federal investigation into whether Wal-Mart violated election law by telling employees that electing Democrats would lead to the passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would make it easier for workers to organize and stiffen penalties for employers who break the law.

As the Wall Street Journal notes, "Companies aren't permitted under federal election law to expressly advocate to hourly employees the election or defeat of specific candidates."

A recording of such a meeting reviewed by the Journal reveals that some Wal-Mart managers spread inaccurate information about the legislation.