was Nevada a quasi-southern state for most of its history?

[freepcrusher]

the state usually sent democrats to DC but they were often very reactionary. Patrick McCarran who was a U.S. senator during the FDR and Truman era had a reputation for making racist and antisemitic epithets. Then there was Walter Baring in the 50s and 60s as the At Large Rep. He started out his career as a New Deal like democrat but during the early 1960s he turned into a foaming at the mouth "the U.N. is putting fluoride into the water" type of guy.

The state sent only three members to congress until 1982 so its admittedly a small sample. But it seems even the noncontroversial democrats (Santini Cannon Bible) were fairly conservative when compared to the neighboring states.

[pbrower2a]

As I recall from an old documentary, the largest city (Las Vegas) was extremely hostile to blacks. Sammy Davis Jr. went there only for the money when he was young and talented -- and found it a miserable place. It was settled from the South, and that contrasted it from San Francisco or even Los Angeles. Since then it has had to adjust to the realities of commerce.

As a den of vice it could get away with nastiness. As a resort area (which it better fits now) it had to adapt to commercial reality. Customers are now precious, and corporate Las Vegas has made the necessary changes. It has also attracted liberal-leaning people to work in the hotel and restaurant trade.

[Gass3268]

As I recall from an old documentary, the largest city (Las Vegas) was extremely hostile to blacks. Sammy Davis Jr. went there only for the money when he was young and talented -- and found it a miserable place. It was settled from the South, and that contrasted it from San Francisco or even Los Angeles. Since then it has had to adjust to the realities of commerce.

As a den of vice it could get away with nastiness. As a resort area (which it better fits now) it had to adapt to commercial reality. Customers are now precious, and corporate Las Vegas has made the necessary changes. It has also attracted liberal-leaning people to work in the hotel and restaurant trade.

I remember hearing a story how Frank Sinatra is essentially personally credited with ended segregation in Las Vegas as he refused to play at hotels/casinos/clubs that would treat Sammy Davis Jr. different then any other entertainer. Almost all of the places relented on their segregationist polices when faced with that ultimatum.   

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

There is nothing southern about Nevada's brand of conservatism. It doesn't come from a place that loves tradition, sweet tea, Toby Keith, and the baby Jesus. It comes from some weird gun-shooting miner stay-off-my-property place.

[old timey villain]

George Wallace did well in Nevada in 1968. He got 14% of the vote in Clark County.

[hopper]

I kind of thought about this the other day. Nevada was still a pretty red state in the 1990's in Presidential Elections but yet they had 2 Dem US Senators in Harry Reid and Richard Bryan during the decade of the 1990's.

[All Along The Watchtower]

There is nothing southern about Nevada's brand of conservatism. It doesn't come from a place that loves tradition, sweet tea, Toby Keith, and the baby Jesus. It comes from some weird gun-shooting miner stay-off-my-property place.

Those two brands are by no means mutually exclusive.

[Skill and Chance]

There is nothing southern about Nevada's brand of conservatism. It doesn't come from a place that loves tradition, sweet tea, Toby Keith, and the baby Jesus. It comes from some weird gun-shooting miner stay-off-my-property place.

Those two brands are by no means mutually exclusive.

The best comparison to early Nevada would be West Virginia.  A unionized mining D political machine with a layer of social conservatism on top.   

[pbrower2a]

There is nothing southern about Nevada's brand of conservatism. It doesn't come from a place that loves tradition, sweet tea, Toby Keith, and the baby Jesus. It comes from some weird gun-shooting miner stay-off-my-property place.

Las Vegas never was a mining town.

Not that I would ever confuse the two states, Nevada now seems politically more like Colorado than like any other state. It relies heavily on gambling, which is very different from skiing in its clientele -- but I have to believe that resort workers must be an open-minded lot. Sure, there are conservative areas dedicated to ranching and mining in both states, but in neither state do the mining and ranching interests.

 

[Vosem]

Not that I would ever confuse the two states, Nevada now seems politically more like Colorado than like any other state. It relies heavily on gambling, which is very different from skiing in its clientele -- but I have to believe that resort workers must be an open-minded lot. Sure, there are conservative areas dedicated to ranching and mining in both states, but in neither state do the mining and ranching interests.

 

I've gotta believe tourism is way more important in NV than CO.