LAS VEGAS (AP) - Nevada Democrats and their union allies appear to have blunted a surge of Republican enthusiasm in early voting, confirming a close race between Republican tea party favorite Sharron Angle and Majority Leader Harry Reid, figures showed Saturday.
Two weeks of early voting that ended Friday provide only a barometer of turnout - it's far from conclusive with Election Day to come. The early numbers confirm Republicans are fired up to deny Reid a fifth term, but Democrats are getting to the polls in significant numbers, too.
Statewide, Democrats hold about a 60,000-vote registration edge over the GOP, and the decisive factor on Nov. 2 is likely to be the state's independent voters.
In Democratic-leaning Clark County, home to seven of ten Nevadans, Republicans account for 33 percent of the voters but turned out 37 percent of those casting early or mail-in ballots, according to preliminary figures.
Democrats in Clark County account for about 45 percent of voters, but turned out 46.2 percent of those casting early ballots, the figures showed. The party has a 23,000-vote edge in early votes in the county, though that lags its 12-point registration advantage there.
In Washoe County, which includes Reno and where registration is roughly split, Republicans turned out 45 percent of early voters, compared to 40 percent for Democrats.
Overall in those two key counties, Democrats turned out about 18,000 more voters, though much of the rest of the state leans Republican.
Each campaign has hundreds of volunteers making phone calls, arranging car rides and knocking on doors to get supporters to the polls - the backbone of turnout operations. Reid is also backed by labor unions, traditional powerhouses in get-out-the-vote operations.
In a year when the GOP is poised to take control of the House and, possibly, the Senate, Nevada Democrats appeared to have narrowed the enthusiasm gap, at least for now.
"You have to respect the Democratic operation in Nevada," said National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesman Brian Jones, who is advising the Angle campaign. Reid "has an established operation and we see that."
Reid, who has claimed he's assembled the best get-out-the-vote operation in the country, was understated: "We are comfortable where we are."
More than half the votes in the Nevada election are expected to come before Election Day, either through mail-in ballots and two weeks of early, in-person voting.
"We always said this was going to be incredibly close, and it is," said Angle spokesman Jordan Gehrke.
Reid's tenuous position speaks to the extent of unrest and unhappiness in his home state, which leads the nation in unemployment, bankruptcies and foreclosures.
Reid might have gotten a boost from Nevada appearances by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Angle brought in Arizona Sen. John McCain on Friday to rally supporters.
The tea party favorite Angle has shown an ability to come from behind: she trailed in early voting in the June primary, then surged to seize the nomination from rival Sue Lowden.
Angle hopes a key to winning the Senate race can be held in your hand. The former Reno legislator borrowed an idea from Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown that was credited with helping the Republican pull off an upset in the traditional Democratic stronghold.
Angle's campaign is using the same software Brown employed in his race that allows a campaign to direct volunteers with maps, voter names and addresses delivered on smartphones.
As of last week, the campaign said its volunteers contacted voters at least 600,000 times, either by phone or in person. Volunteers are working several shifts a day at four offices around the state.
Reid brought in actor Kal Penn to rally Democratic volunteers outside a campaign office this week. Reid asked volunteers how the calls were going, but Melvina Missouri-Donovan did not have good news for him.
"Some of them are very disgusted," she said. "When you call them, they say, 'Don't call me anymore."'
Republican Dean Meek, a 52-year-old property manager from Henderson, stopped by a mall to vote for Angle after volunteers pestered him every day to ask if he had cast his ballot.
"I've been itching to vote," Meek said, "I heard if you vote early, you won't get the phone calls anymore."