The 1950 Elections in Nevada
| Date | 01 March 1951 |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295100400111 |
| Published date | 01 March 1951 |
| Author | C.C. Smith |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
92
THE
1950
ELECTIONS
IN
NEVADA
C.
C.
SMITH
University
of
Nevada
The
1950
Republican
trend
in
Nevada
was
more
conspicuous
than
would
ordinarily
be
expected
in
an
off-year
election.
For
the
first
time
in
twenty
years
a
Republican
governor
was
elected.
The
Democrats
also
lost
the
office
of
controller,
and
in
other
state-wide
contests
won
in
most
cases
by
uncomfortable
majorities.
For
the
next
two
years
the
state
Senate
will
be
controlled
by
the
Republicans;
the
Assembly
will
be
in
the
hands
of
the
Democrats,
but
with
a
working
majority
of
no
more
than
three.
Certain
inferences
can
be
drawn
from
the
statistics
of
the
1950
Nevada
elections.
First,
the
electors
had
no
scruples
in
the
matter
of
crossing
party
lines.
There
were
83,928
registered
voters
in
the
state,
with
the
Democrats
having
a
numerical
majority
(on
paper
at
least)
of
52,980
to
26,659.
The
Republican
candidate
for
governor
received
almost
10,000
votes
in
excess
of
his
party’s
registration,
and
won
by
about
the
same
majority
as
did
the
Democratic
candidate
for
the
United
States
Senate,
McCarron.
Secondly,
a
heavy
vote
does
not
necessarily
mean
a
Democratic
ad,
vantage.
In
the
gubernatorial
race,
the
popular
vote
was
about
73
per
cent
of
the
total
registration.
Third,
labor
unions
as
a
political
force
are
not
as
potent
as
many
labor
leaders
had
surmised,
and
as
many
politicians
had
feared.
Candidates
endorsed
by
labor
on
both
the
state
and
local
levels
suffered
a
high
mor-
tality,
and
the
few
who
were
successful
would
have
been
elected
without
union
sponsorship.
Fourth,
national
issues,
rather
than
those
of
a
local
character,
were
the
chief
determinants
in
the
Republican
upsurge.
The
defeat
of
the
Democratic
incumbent
for
governor
may
be
attributed
in
large
part
to
the
ground
swell
of
dissatisfaction
whetted
by
charges
of
blunders
in
foreign
policy,
the
dissipation
of
national
resources,
the
infiltration
of
communists
in
strategic
government
positions,
and
the
creeping
paralysis
of
socialism.
THE
1950
ELECTIONS
IN
NEW
MEXICO
CHARLES
JUDAH
University
of
New
Mexico
The
1950
elections
in
New
Mexico
resulted
in
a
general
Democratic
victory.
The
two
Democratic
candidates
for
Congress
were
elected,
and
the
Democrats
not
only
increased
their
majority
in
the
state
legislature
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