We’ve taken a road trip from Pennsylvania and are now onto the second in our series exploring America’s 2024 presidential election battlegrounds. Our purpose is simple: To give you, the voters, a deep understanding of each of the seven key swing states, how they can be won this November—and who is likely to do so.
Today’s battleground is Nevada, a state whose people are divided between those complaining about water shortages and those mesmerized by the Bellagio fountains ; between those who own gold mines and those who dine at the Golden Corral. (As they say, always bet on the pot roast.)
A little history to get us started: Nevada joined the union 160 years ago, right before the 1864 election. Its statehood was fast-tracked, in fact, in an effort to give Abraham Lincoln three additional electoral votes and a Republican majority in Congress. (Historians believe this is the first time the GOP tried to fix an election, although for once it was for a good guy.) Lincoln went on to win re-election and soon celebrated at Ford’s Theater—or as John Wilkes Booth called it, Target Center.