Horsford vs. Hardy: The Rematch

BY LOUIE OVERSTREET

The race in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District pits Cresent Hardy against his predecessor, Steve Horsford, in a rematch of their 2014 contest — when Hardy won by a slim margin of about 3,000 votes.

November’s election figures to be a nail-biter of its own. The stakes are sky-high in this race, so look for it to be a bare-knuckle brawl. Two factors allowed Hardy to upset Horsford when they last met: word-of-mouth and heavy turnout in the rural areas of the district.

Word-of-mouth among black and brown voters really hurt Horsford in 2014. He made several bad hires in his Las Vegas office, and their lazy outreach efforts became a running joke among his constituents. Thrown together with the rural turnout of good ol’ boys and girls, Horsford lasted only one term on Capitol Hill.

This time, Horsford needs to swallow his pride and seek the help of grassroots community leaders — like Lois Reed and others — who could help cut into the 3,000-vote gap. He can’t cozy up exclusively to rich white folks.

This time around, given that the control of the House could very well come down to one or two races, campaign funds will not be an issue for either candidate. The outcome will be determined by two issues: the obvious one of voter turnout; and surprisingly, Horsford’s residency.

The worst-kept secret in the state is that Horsford has lived in D.C., not Nevada, for the past five years. Hardy will most likely run ads showing Horsford’s residence. If so, you can imagine what the commercial voiceover will sound like.

While I agree that Horsford dropped the ball in a big way last time, the national stakes are too great not to give him another chance. And due to some arm-twisting by Chuck Bremer, it’s “Go Horsford!” for me.