Politicaldog101.Com

by David Nir

Leading Off:• NV-St. Sen: Here’s an interesting—and welcome—story out of Tuesday night’s primaries in Nevada. Local progressives had long been unhappy with Democratic state Sen. John Lee over his conservative-leaning record and backed first-time candidate Patricia Spearman, a gay minister, in the primary. The AP summarizes some of his apostasies:

But he was targeted by environmentalists and conservationists upset over Lee’s sponsorship of 2011 bill that paved the way for Nevada to withdraw from a partnership with California that governs development and environmental regulations at Lake Tahoe.Lee, who has served in the Senate since 2004, also ran afoul of the more liberal members of the Democratic Party for opposing a 2009 domestic partnership law that extended rights to cohabitating gay and heterosexual couples. Lee also opposed a failed Democratic plan last year to raise taxes.

Progressive support didn’t come with a lot of money, though: Spearman was outraised $200K to just $13K. Lee also had the backing of the Democratic establishment, including Sen. Harry Reid’s endorsement, and outside groups spent on his behalf as well. Nevertheless, Spearman rode to a stunning upset in Senate District 1, crushing Lee by a63-37 margin. The best part is that this is a blue seat, and no Republican even filed to run here this year. (The only other candidate on the ballot is “Independent American” Gregory Hughes.) So Spearman should now be all but assured of victory in November, and her presence will help push the Nevada Democratic caucus in a more progressive direction.