Douglas couldlead the nation

Who knew Douglas County would be so critical to the future of the nation? With the second highest number of Republicans in the 2nd Congressional District, Douglas will be a battleground in the Republican primary for that seat.

Only Washoe County has a higher number of Republicans, with about half the district's 168,167 registered Republicans. Douglas County has 8.7 percent of the district's Republicans.

While that doesn't seem like a lot, Douglas voters tend to turn out for elections and Washoe voters tend not to, especially for an Aug. 15 primary. A solid Republican turnout in Douglas could easily sway what promises to be a close primary race for Congress.

Once the primary is over, it would be easy to say the winner of that race has a lock on the seat. After all, Republicans hold a 47,000-vote majority over the Democrats.

However, there are a substantial number of unaffiliated voters in the district. Enough to make up the difference in a close race.

So where does that leave Douglas County? In great shape. The only Democrat in the congressional race is Valley resident Jill Derby. Congressional candidates Republican Glenn Thomas and independent Daniel Rosen are also Douglas County residents.

In Nevada, we call that covering your bet.