Sharron Angle, the Tea Party sweetheart who narrowly lost her 2010 bid to unseat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in Nevada has come out for Rick Santorum. On Thursday, the Santorum campaign issued a statement from Angle heaping praise on their candidate:
“Rick Santorum and I have known each other for years. He is a strong fiscal and social conservative who stands on principles above politics. He has never wavered in his support for family values understanding the impact that strong families have on a prosperous economy. His continuous opposition to Amnesty, Obamacare, the bail-outs, and cap and trade are a perfect fit with our main street Tea Party movement.”
Nevada’s political playing field seems ripe for a surprise. A small number of committed activists can make a difference in this contest.
Conventional Wisdom – built on his strong showing in Nevada in 2008 – holds that Nevada Mormons will turn out in force for their co-religionist Mitt Romney, but that’s based on a relatively fine slice of the overall Nevada GOP electorate. Estimates based on Church of Latter Day Saints figures and census data indicate that Mormons make up less than 7% of Silver State population.
Ron Paul is targeting Nevada as one of the caucus states where he hopes to harness his sometimes small – he was polling last, at 7% statewide – but famously enthused support base to rack up enough delegates to make a stink at the convention in Tampa, but he expects to post much higher on Saturday. Some of Paul’s folks are veterans of their 2008 “outmaneuvering” of Republican regulars to maximize delegate accrual. They know the arcane caucus rules inside out. Four years ago, Nevada hosted one of Paul’s only two county-wide wins.
So, if Angle can rile up some of her Silver State Tea Party pals, still loyal after her Nevada GOP establishment primary upset and Harry Reid near miss in ’08, her nod may have an impact on the results, and maybe the course of the race. Just a fraction of the some 70,000 2010 GOP primary voters she won over could be key.
Post-Florida primary, Santorum suggested that Newt Gingrich has blown his chance – yet again – as to be the conservative alternative to Romney, and that it was his turn to take up that mantle – again? – from that point on.
If Politico’s headline is right – “Newt Gingrich’s Nevada campaign unraveling” – Santorum has a chance to best Newt in Nevada. The question is: will Sharron Angle’s endorsement influence enough activists to show up and caucus on a Saturday afternoon to surprise pundits in this expected snoozer?
