Dems hunker down in NV-03 after recruiting failures

December 3, 2015

stand byDemocrats have had such a long – and public – string of recruiting failures in NV-03 that they have decided to go radio silent instead of bragging to the press about their (ill-fated) recruiting efforts. Today, Politico highlighted just how bad it’s been for the DCCC in NV-03 and exactly how tight-lipped they have become about their efforts there. From Politico:

Democrats have tried and failed to recruit three major candidates since Heck decided to run for Senate: former Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller; state Sen. Aaron Ford; and Heather Murren, the co-founder of the Nevada Cancer Institute and the wife of MGM Resorts International CEO Jim Murren.

 All of them declined to run. Since those rejections, Democratic recruiters have been more tight-lipped about their efforts, said Yvanna Cancela, political director at the Culinary Union in Nevada. “They’re going to do their due diligence before they even give a hint of who it is,” Cancela said. “But to underestimate Reid and his operation and their ability to make magic happen in the state would be a mistake.”

 A DCCC source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss recruiting candidly, said the committee was still actively hunting for a candidate.

Tight-lipped. Due diligence. Condition of anonymity. These aren’t phrases you see when things are going well.

“After 3 high-profile recruiting failures, Democrats have decided to go radio silent about their recruiting efforts in NV-03. With nobody willing to run, Democrats are left dodging the press and speaking anonymously about a search that looks less and less likely to turn up a legitimate candidate.” – NRCC Spokesman Zach Hunter