The NRCC takes to the airwaves in Nevada, hitting Democrat Kate Marshall for supporting tax increases. They also imply that Nevada’s recent severe economic troubles can be laid at her feet, but I’m not sure how much voters will blame the state treasurer for high unemployment, loss of tourism dollars, and the most severely collapsed housing market in the country. (UPDATE: See below.)
Having said that, the Nevada treasurer is responsible for “ensures the state’s investments and debt obligations are managed prudently and in the best interest of the people of Nevada” and the state has the worst debt-to-budget ratio in the country, hitting 54 percent earlier this year.
“Instead of getting better, things have gotten worse.” Somehow, I suspect we’ll hear a lot more of messages like that in the coming year and a half, both in Nevada and nationwide.
Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District will select its next representative in a special election held on Sept. 13.
UPDATE: Then again, when a candidate campaigns by declaring, “I have taken the state through this fiscal crisis, steered it with a steady hand,” perhaps it’s fair to suggest she’s taking ownership of the state’s economic condition. And I suspect in the minds of many Nevadans, the crisis continues: The unemployment rate in the state is the highest in the nation at 12.4 percent, the housing market and commercial real estate markets are described as “bouncing along the bottom,” and regional executives are projecting that the state’s economy may not come back for another three to five years.