Email to Club Members
Pat just fired off this email to Club members about last night's primary in Nevada:
Dear Club Members,
As Connie Mack once said, "you can't win them all." Still, some losses are harder to take than others. Like the one last night that was not decided until the wee hours of the morning.
Club for Growth PAC-endorsed candidate Sharron Angle appears to have lost to Dean Heller in a three-way race for the GOP nomination in Nevada's second congressional district. If just 215 of the 70,254 voters had cast ballots for Sharron instead of Dean, she would have won. The final tally was 35.14% to 34.53%, which is about as close as it gets.
The agony of defeat increased when we read a news report that in Sharron's home county, where she outpolled her opponent, "about 10 of 93 polling places...got off to a late start...and some voters [said] they simply had to leave." No doubt, a strong plurality of those voters were Sharron's.
As in almost all races where the Club's PAC gets involved, Sharron was the underdog from the beginning. Heller is Nevada's secretary of state, and he had won two statewide elections, giving him a huge lead in name recognition that carried the day for him yesterday.
It is possible there will be a recount, but as of now we know of no reason why the final result will be any different. Sharron is awaiting the final tally before conceding or making a decision as to whether to ask for a recount.
We are saddened by this loss because Sharron would have made a great congresswoman. Her record as a state representative of standing up to the Republican governor who backed a record tax hike is one we will always appreciate. We could use more lawmakers with her backbone in Washington.
With yesterday's loss, the Club for Growth PAC's record now stands at 9-3 for this election cycle. This record is even more impressive than it appears as our candidates faced 33 opponents.
However, even in losing, a strong message was sent to tax and spend politicians in Nevada and around the country. Club for Growth members and the Club for Growth PAC will do everything possible to tell the public about their records. Over time that is sure to affect how future lawmakers will vote on key tax and spending issues.
We thank all the thousands of Club members who supported Sharron's campaign. Without you, coming so close to winning this race would have been impossible.
Best Regards,
Pat
