Alright, so my prediction that Nevada would go red was wrong. Barack Obama won 52.30% and Mitt Romney won 45.73%. County-by-county, Romney won 15/17 counties, losing Clark (Las Vegas) and Washoe (Reno). I was surprised that Obama was able to capture Reno, especially with the last-minute campaigning that Romney did in the area to get students at the University of Nevada Reno to change their votes this time around.

In post-election coverage, The Washington Post evaluated how the state split its tickets – electing some Republicans like Dean Heller over Democrat incumbent Shelley Berkley, while still sending the electoral votes to Obama. This election for Nevada was really going to come down to two factors – whether the poor economy would be enough for Romney to flip the state from 2008 (when it elected Obama) or if the rapidly growing Latino population would get out the vote and keep Obama in the lead.

From the Reno-Gazette Journal’s “Latino votes come with a demand: Reform immigration system” published 11/7/12 (click photo to link).

Because the Latino population, as reported by National Public Radio, has grown to comprise 10 percent of the electorate, the GOP has to figure out how to win back their votes. With rising Latino superstars in both parties – Mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julian Castro (Democrat) and Florida Senator Marco Rubio (Republican) – the door is open for the parties to realign on the issues in an effort to court the burgeoning population’s votes. Losing the minority vote in general hurt the GOP, and while they may struggle with African-Americans, many say that the religious links between Latinos and the GOP make the fit plausible, if they can work out their presently rigid position on immigration.

I checked in on the Reno Gazette-Journal, which changed its endorsement to Romney this year after feeling let down by Obama’s first term. Their coverage would indicate that Romney lost Nevada due to women and the Latino vote. Seems like Nevada’s narrative fits right in line with the national narrative, so all the stories – like today’s Early Start CNN coverage and The New York Times’ front page article – about the GOP needing to re-evaluate are right on target in this state.