Democrats widen gap in county

Clark County Democrats gained ground on Republicans in voter registration for the Sept. 1 statewide primaries compared to two years ago.

Of the 547,533 Southern Nevada residents eligible to vote, 243,746 are Democrats, about 31,000 more than the 212,618 registered Republicans. For the 1996 primaries, Democrats held an edge of 25,000.

Residents have until Oct. 3 to register for the Nov. 3 general election, but last Saturday was the deadline for the primaries.

The Democrats retain a commanding lead of nearly 40,000 voters over Republicans in Nevada's 1st Congressional District, which includes portions of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson.

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., who is in his second term as the district's representative, is vying this fall for the seat held by Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. Nevada Board of Regents member Shelley Berkley, a Democrat, is viewed by political observers as the front-runner for the congressional seat.

County Republicans, however, hold an edge of about 9,000 voters over Democrats in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes the remainder of the state. With no Democratic opposition, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., is considered a shoo-in to be re-elected to his second term in that district.

Democrats hold an advantage in five of the county's eight state Senate districts and in 19 of the 26 Assembly districts. Republicans hold a 12-9 edge in the Senate, but are particularly vulnerable in Southern Nevada's District 7. Incumbent GOP Sen. Kathy Augustine is running instead for state controller.

Two-term Assemblyman Jack Close, R-Las Vegas, hopes to retain Augustine's Senate seat for his party, but he'll be matched against either Democrats Terry Care or Russell Davis in a district where Democrats enjoy a 10,000-voter advantage.

Close's departure from Assembly District 15 also makes that seat a target for a Democratic takeover because the Democrats hold a 1,700-voter edge there. The Assembly Democrats have a 25-17 majority.

Three-term Assemblywoman Gene Segerblom, D-Boulder City, is the only Southern Nevadan in the Legislature who is seeking re-election in a district where her party is in the minority. There are about 3,800 more Republicans than Democrats in her district. Her Republican opponent is Anthony "Tony" Delgado of Henderson.

Despite the Democratic edge countywide, nonpartisan and third-party voters could prove to be the swing vote in several general election races. As of Saturday, there were 76,324 nonpartisan voters. The leading third parties were Independent American (10,299), Libertarian (2,662), Natural Law (371), Green Party (262) and Reform Party (208).

Of particular note will be the impact of local Hispanic voters. A group called Amigos For Democracy, backed by Spanish-language media outlets, registered more than 2,000 new Hispanic voters for the primaries.

Statewide voter registration totals will be made available next week.

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