February 25, 2016

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT:

THE NEVADA REPUBLICAN CAUCUS WAS A SUCCESS

The Media Got It Wrong Again

Today marks two days past the Nevada Republican Caucus. With record turnout levels, the Nevada Republican Party announced 100 percent of precincts reported in within a few hours of the Caucus ending. For those that need reminders, two days after the Nevada Democrat Caucus, they were still counting their precincts.

Stories such as the Washington Post’s “What’s the matter with Nevada’s Republican Party,” not only willfully miss the mark, but are just plain inaccurate. So let’s set the record straight:

CLAIM: “Tuesday marks at least one time in this tumultuous presidential election when the media called it: The Nevada GOP caucus was going to be a messy, disorganized affair.” (Amber Phillips, “What’s the matter with Nevada’s Republican Party?” The Washington Post, 2.24.2016)

FACTS: The Nevada Republican Caucus had a record turnout of 75,000 voters across the state. The Caucuses were held at 139 sites, with about 2,000 volunteers and site managers working tirelessly to ensure every eligible voter was able to cast a ballot in the presidential preference poll. After these ballots were cast, each site reported the tally to the State Party in a timely and efficient manner. And 100 percent of precincts were reported within a few hours of the caucus ending.

CLAIM: “Some reporters on the ground noted long lines, precincts without chairs, flaring tempers and alleged violations of caucus rules” (Amber Phillips, “What’s the matter with Nevada’s Republican Party?” The Washington Post, 2.24.2016)

FACTS: Long lines are clearly of a result of record turnout numbers. Every eligible voter who was in line was able to participate in the caucus. Any locations that reported running low on ballots received extra ballots within 30 minutes of the report.

Each precinct elected or appointed a caucus chair at the start of their meeting.

The State Party had protocols in place to ensure everyone who received a ballot would sign in and show a government issued photo identification. Additionally, the State Party had mechanisms in place to avoid the contamination of any ballots if that process did not occur.

CLAIM: “GOP Chair Michael O’Donnell” (Amber Phillips, “What’s the matter with Nevada’s Republican Party?” The Washington Post, 2.24.2016)

FACTS: The State Party Chairman goes by the name Michael J. McDonald. It is not clear who the Washington Post is referring to in this article. A quick Google search refers us to a State Senator in Kansas. It is unclear if he was the one commenting on the Nevada Republican Party.

CLAIM: “The well-organized state Democratic Party jumped into action to fund and organize such a logistically challenging event. They paid for educational materials on how a caucus works and held practice caucuses throughout the state. Compared to the mess that is the Republican Party, Nevada Democrats have held three caucuses now relatively unscathed.” (Amber Phillips, “What’s the matter with Nevada’s Republican Party?” The Washington Post, 2.24.2016)

FACTS: The Nevada Republican Party held caucus trainings on average of 4-5 times a week leading up to the Caucus. In addition to the digital media effort and ads run in papers for each county party, they also built a caucus website that included a caucus locator tool allowing voters to easily find their caucus locations. Nevada Republican Caucus staff was in place by July of last year.

The “well-organized state Democratic Party” also had complaints of long lines, used playing cards to pick their winner in some cases and took two extra days to report all their results.

IN CONCLUSION: With turnout up more than 130% from 2012, while the Democrats turnout has decreased, the Republican Party has reason to be excited. Tuesday was a very good night for Republicans. So despite any claims otherwise, the media didn’t “call it.” And manipulating facts to fit a narrative will not make it so.