RENO - Reublican Senate candidate John Ensign has moved his family to Reno in an effort to woo northern Nevada voters in his campaign against Las Vegas Democrat Ed Bernstein.
The Las Vegas veterinarian, his wife Darlene, and their three children moved into a rented home near Galena High School last week so Ensign can spend the next seven weeks campaigning exclusively in the north.
Hes been shuttling between Reno and Las Vegas weekly for the past 18 months and already has made several tours into the rural areas, but he wants to target his efforts this summer.
''We want to win in Clark, but we also want to solidify northern Nevada and the rurals so much that it almost wouldn't matter what happens in Clark,'' Ensign said Friday during a campaign stop in Fernley.
Ensign came very close to winning a U.S. Senate seat in 1998 using a political strategy borrowed from Nevada's former Republican senator, Paul Laxalt.
Laxalt couldn't carry Democratic-heavy Clark County but was victorious with a strong showing in the conservative northern and rural counties.
Ensign also carried 15 of Nevada's 17 counties in his Senate race against Democratic incumbent Harry Reid two years ago.
But Reid's stronghold in Clark and Mineral counties - where Democrats outnumber Republicans - was too much for Ensign, who lost by 428 votes.
But Ensign thinks he can make Laxalt's strategy work for him this time.
Visits to senior centers, tours of local businesses and small neighborhood gatherings fill Ensigns calendar in the coming weeks. His days start about 6:30 a.m. and finish shortly before midnight.
While it's important for Ensign to talk to voters about their concerns, it's equally important people around the state get to meet the candidate.
''You can't learn about me in a 30-second TV ad,'' he said.
