Many Nevada Republicans appear to be turning their back on the state party, which is increasingly being dominated by Ron Paul loyalists who took over the state convention this year and elected a majority of delegates to the Republican National Convention.
According to the
Las Vegas Sun, political observers say long-time party activists have lost confidence in the state-level apparatus to get Republicans of all stripes elected.
They fear the party organization might spend more time trying to get Paul nominated over Romney at the convention, “or pushing his libertarian philosophy, than being the backbone of the GOP election effort,” the newspaper said.
As a result, many traditional Republicans have turned to contributing more to conservative groups, like Americans for Prosperity, and the Republican National Committee, to help ensure the party delivers a tough contest for Democrats in the November elections.
“It has become evident after the convention that the new leadership for the party is not interested in getting Republicans elected as much as moving an ideology forward,” said Mendy Elliot, a longtime Republican fundraiser.
“The purpose of the party is to get Republicans elected and register Republicans. Until that focus is shifted back, it’s hard for mainstream Republicans to understand the purpose of the party.”
According to the Sun, the change in the state party staffing, which includes Paul supporter Michael McDonald as its new chairman, and other issues have turned off GOP elected leaders in the state as well.
Most of them “skipped the state convention earlier this month and have shown little willingness to get into the muck of rebuilding the state party,” the Sun said.
Some changes in the way Nevada Republicans are preparing for the November elections have already become obvious. Americans for Prosperity, for example, has taken over voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts that were once the domain of the state party, the Sun reported.
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