William McCurdy II, left, listens to Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speak during a rally Tuesday at the East Las Vegas Voter Activation Center, one of a number of get-out-the-vote efforts taking place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020. In addition to waging what looks like a successful campaign for the Clark County Commission, McCurdy is also the Democratic State Party chairman in Nevada.
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2020 | 2 a.m.
William McCurdy II is the kind of candidate people get excited to support. He’s young, energetic, excitable and just genuinely nice. He’s overcome personal hardships and obstacles and is a rising star in Nevada politics.
McCurdy is a two-term Nevada assemblyman and chairman of the Nevada State Democratic Party. He spent Tuesday wrapping up what was looking like a successful run for Clark County Commission in District D, an area incorporating the northern part of the Las Vegas Valley, and for a seat left vacant by the term-limited Lawrence Weekly.
The McCurdy campaign granted the Sun access to his process, including several events in the week leading up to Election Day and multiple exclusive interviews.
Below is the rundown of what Election Day was like for McCurdy.
6:51 a.m.: McCurdy arrives at the East Las Vegas Voter Activation Center for his first event of the day. He’s dressed casually in a white shirt and jeans with a Biden-Harris button and sneakers. He’s wearing a blue Battle Born mask, but the smile in his eyes reveals what the mask covers.
“Feeling powerful!” he exclaims.
That’s a constant throughout his campaign. At rallies he likes asking the audience members how they’re feeling and having them respond with “powerful.” It’s a deliberate choice, and one that he hopes resonates with voters.
“For me, it’s important that we put the power back into the hands of the people,” McCurdy says. “Nine times out of 10, most people don’t look themselves in the mirror and say, ‘I feel powerful today. I can overcome any other obstacle.’ ”
This event is a canvass launch with volunteers ready to grab fliers to drop throughout the community. McCurdy takes a sip of his coffee, a subtle clue what his day will be like. It’s a Starbucks cup, venti sized — it will be a long day — with “feeling powerful” written on it. On the other side is another written note, with how he hopes the day will end.
“Commissioner McCurdy.”
7:13 a.m.: The event begins as Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak steps out of his car and walks toward the stage. A coordinator introduces McCurdy, who grabs the microphone and kicks off the event.
“All power is in the people,” McCurdy says. “We have the power to change the direction we are headed in this country.”
He hands the microphone off to Olivia Diaz, a Las Vegas councilwoman in whose district everyone is assembled. She gives her statements then passes the mic to Assemblyman Edgar Flores, who in turn passes it to Sisolak. As they finish, the speakers and crowd join in a chant of “Sí, se puede!” — “Yes we can!” —and the Election Day canvassing is underway.
8:18 a.m.: McCurdy spends about an hour talking to supporters, posting to his Instagram story and grabbing a bite to eat. One of his campaign staff jokes McCurdy is so focused on working that he’ll forget to eat if a breakfast burrito isn’t stuffed into his hand.
The campaign bus fires up and McCurdy hops on board. The morning is about supporting voters. The bus has planned stops at Rancho High School, William K. Moore Elementary School, Walnut Recreation Center and Jim Bridger Middle School: all polling locations in the county commission district McCurdy is running to represent.
9:58 a.m.: As a campaign stop at Moore Elementary was wrapping up and McCurdy finished a radio interview, he started chatting with a poll observer. They discussed McCurdy’s campaign and his beliefs, which piqued the interest of Amanda Grebe, a worker with a voter outreach organization. She asked McCurdy for a photo, and said she had lots of family who were involved with the LGBTQ community, and was moved by McCurdy’s support.
A few minutes later McCurdy is back on the bus. He’s entering the fourth hour of his Election Day canvassing and showing no signs of slowing down. He’s energetic, jovial and catches the attention of most everyone at the polling stations he visits. He continues to post to his Instagram story and engage with voters. He excitedly points out he was tagged in a photo with a caption of “Feeling powerful.”
11:01 a.m.: The event ends and it’s back on the bus, which is doubles as transportation and a place to recharge. The bus offers the perfect opportunity for some quiet time to get some other work done. He’s not just a candidate, but as the chair of the state Democratic Party and the vice president of a western states coalition, he’s also someone highly invested in races across the state and region. He makes calls to friends in races across the country, including a candidate for Georgia’s 5th Congressional District, the seat of the late John Lewis.
McCurdy is particularly interested in states close to Nevada. Colorado has grown more Democratic as years have gone on, and Arizona is considered a pickup opportunity after losing the state in the 2016 general election. Both have U.S. Senate races with an opportunity to oust an incumbent Republican.
The interstate communication is important not just to McCurdy, but to his whole party. The day before Election Day, McCurdy held an event with Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, a big name in the national party. Garcetti is another in an ever-growing list of McCurdy supporters, and joked that he’s making a smart choice in his race to jump from state politics (Assembly) to local (county commission).
“He is the face of this country today and the vision of this country tomorrow,” Garcetti said. “It’s rare you get somebody that’s good, good at what they do and an inspiration, and he’s all three. He’s got the ethics, he’s got the brains and he’s got the can-do experience.
“So whenever he pulls the Bat-Signal, I respond.”
11:11 a.m.: The bus stops at Jim Bridger Middle School, another polling place and a spot familiar to McCurdy. He went to summer camp here, not far from the place he grew up in the Vegas Heights.
His upbringing is what makes him such a dynamic character. He dropped out of high school at 16 as a teenage father and took a job working construction. He became one of the youngest foremen on the job. At 24, he returned to school and received his high school diploma. He attended the College of Southern Nevada, where he entered the race for student body president a week before the election and won.
“The obstacles he overcame, it shows just how much character and charisma that he actually has,” said John Coleman, McCurdy’s cousin. “He grew up in hard times on the Westside, and regardless of the struggle he prevailed. I’m really proud of him. I’m proud to see him at this point and I’m just excited to see what’s to come after this.”
Two years after graduating high school, McCurdy ran for Nevada Assembly and won his first term in 2016. He became the chair of the state party months later and in 2018 won reelection unopposed.
McCurdy, now 32, turned his sights on the county commission in 2019, in part because he feels he can do more for his part of town at the county level, but also because of his kids. He’s a single father to two sons, William III and Charles, and as an assemblyman was off in Carson City for months at a time when Legislature was in session. As a commissioner, he can see them more often at home.
McCurdy and Coleman caught up outside Jim Bridger Middle School, where Coleman, dressed in not only a McCurdy shirt but a mask as well, was driving a freighter truck for the Democratic Party with dates and times of polling on Election Day on the side. On the side was a campaign ad for his cousin.
Noon: A day of campaigning calls for a hearty lunch break. The bus stops at Gritz Cafe, a Southern soul food restaurant in the Historic Westside. Bill and Hillary Clinton have been there, as have plenty of other candidates. The owner is Trina Jiles, the first Black female firefighter in Clark County, who makes sure to say hi to McCurdy and his group.
“On Election Day you have to go to Gritz,” McCurdy says.
McCurdy meets up with his parents, who are both sporting his blue campaign T-shirts. McCurdy orders chicken wings and fries, and seemingly everyone at the restaurant comes up to say hello. Belly-full and energized, McCurdy bounces back on the bus, laughing at a certain reporter who mentioned this was his first time at Gritz Cafe but certainly not his last.
2 p.m.: McCurdy returns to the East Las Vegas Voter Activation Center, as do some of the morning’s luminaries. McCurdy again starts off the event, then hands the mic off to Diaz, and Sisolak closes. This time they are joined by members of Nevada’s congressional delegation: Reps. Dina Titus (NV-01) and Steven Horsford (NV-04), the latter of whom is an important figure in McCurdy’s political career.
“Him taking the time to mentor me, and to be there to listen when I had ideas … I think that’’s incredibly important,” McCurdy says. “I want to continue to support him as our congressman, but also as a friend.”
McCurdy counts Horsford as one of his inspirations and calls him “like a big brother.” They’re from a similar part of town, Horsford is McCurdy’s district’s representative and Horsford helped break some barriers as the first Black majority leader in the Nevada Senate and as the first Black person to represent the state in Congress.
The admiration is mutual. Horsford and McCurdy have known each other for more than a decade. McCurdy caught the congressman’s eye when he was at CSN and the community organization that followed. Horsford was among the first to support McCurdy’s campaign for county commission.
“He’s fought for issues around workers, protecting wages, around health care and of course his leadership as the state party chairman of the Democratic Party, helping to not lead us not once but twice through two successful elections,” Horsford said. “And he’s going to do it again in 2020.”
3:30 p.m.: The final voter outreach event of the day is at Doolittle Community Center, where even the usually genial McCurdy is extra friendly. He soon points out why — he steps to the sidewalk and points out a white house with red trim. It’s the house where he grew up. If he knew almost everyone at Gritz Cafe for lunch, you’d have to look even farther here to find someone McCurdy didn’t personally know.
He continued to chat with voters, many of whom said they supported him. After 4 o’clock, McCurdy departs again, this time for home. He’s off to change and go to Springs Preserve, where he’s opening the Democratic Party’s comments to the assembled media. Polls have closed in parts of the East Coast, will close in Nevada in fewer than three hours, and the day’s work is almost done. Almost.
5:39 p.m.: Dressed now in a shirt and tie, McCurdy takes the podium at Springs Preserve with a decidedly different tone he held for most of the day. As he engaged with voters he was cheerful and laughing. This time he was still talking to voters, but it was more about the president and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, which was much angrier.
“Our lives and our livelihoods depend on electing new leaders to the White House, leaders who listen to scientists and have a sense of compassion for the pain and struggle families are facing each and every day,” he says. “Today we say no more. All across the country, we are rejecting Donald Trump and his failed leadership.”
He also addressed the late-in-the-day court order that ruled certain polling centers could remain open an extra hour, until 8 p.m. He called it a “beautiful thing” that more time was allowed for voting. McCurdy took it as a chance to address more voter turnout.
“If you are listening to me tonight, we have just a couple hours until the polls close and I’m asking you to get out and vote like your life depends on it because, guess what?” McCurdy says. “It does.”
6:30 p.m.: McCurdy leaves Springs Preserve to spend some time with his family before results are reported in the state. Because of COVID-19 precautions, the Sun was not invited to the McCurdy household.
At Springs Preserve, the mood was unlike any watch party in the past. It was less about the results of the election — Nevada polls had not yet closed and national results were mixed — and more about the lack of people. The public was not permitted so it was state party staff, some media and the occasional speaker. McCurdy, Sisolak and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev. spoke, mostly about the extending voting hours and urging voters to stay in line and vote.
10:09 p.m.: The first preliminary vote counts of the night are posted by the county elections office, and McCurdy has a massive lead over challenger David Washington. McCurdy had 36,413 of the initial 47,161 votes, for a lead of 77.2%-22.8% — the widest margin of any of the four county commission races on the ballot.
“Wow!!” McCurdy texted from his home.
11:26 p.m.: The race may not be certified by the county for days, but McCurdy has seen enough. He pulled into Springs Preserve long after most had left to bask in the glow of his victory. He started his day nearly 17 hours ago and his campaign nearly 17 months ago.
He stepped out of his car, for the first time, as Commissioner-elect William McCurdy II.
“I feel really thankful, sincerely thankful for the people and their trust in me, and really it’s our trust in us,” he says. “You hear me often throughout the campaign say, ‘Hey I believe in us, not me.’ So that’s what this is about.
“This is a big one, man.”
McCurdy remarked that he was encouraged by the presidential race as well. At this time, media outlets had called about a draw, but Democrats were excited about Joe Biden’s potential.
In fact you might say they felt powerful. That’s how McCurdy felt. The 32-year-old, who four years ago had never won a government election but worked his way into the Assembly and into his position as state party chair, was going to the Clark County Commission.
“Ask me how I’m feeling,” he yells into the cool night air. “Powerful!”
