Bill Raggio is the recognized master of the Senate, its Majority Leader, Chairman of Finance, a fixture in the upper house since 1972 and, for the north, a big counterweight to the increasing political power of southern Nevada. He hasn't had a serious election challenge in just anyone's memory.

So, why on an August afternoon is he working the phones, calling individual voters.
In 2 words: Sharron Angle. Angle has earned her reputation has an intractable anti-tax hawk during several terms in the Assembly and a tireless door to door campaigner. This year she surprised just about everyone by filing against the most powerful Republican lawmaker in the state.

At a sit down with local media Thursday, Angle dismissed Raggio's experience and leadership noting the 2003 tax increase and the loss of northern seats in the 2001 reapportionment both happened on his watch. "We can't afford that kind of leadership. I've seen what happens with that leadership. We need something different."

Raggio notes Angle stood with Republican leadership in the Assembly in 2003, one of the so-called "mean 15" who held up the budget for weeks. He says the Assembly Republicans were willing to raise taxes more than $700 million dollars. The eventual compromise, approved by a two-thirds vote was more than $100 million higher. He says he worked hard to protect northern seats in the reapportionment, leading the fight to expand the number of seats in the legislature, so the north wouldn't lose any. In the end, he says, Democratic leadership in the Assembly reneged on the deal. "My opponent was in the Assembly then. If she was so influential she could have done something."
"He could have killed the bill," Angle says.

Raggio agrees reapportionment in 2011 should concern the north, but says that's why our area needs experienced leadership in the legislature, so we won't lose seats.

As the primary campaign heads into its final days, the focus in the Raggio campaign is getting out the vote. The thinking is Angle's dedicated following may be more likely to turn out. That could be a big factor in a low turnout primary and all indications are that's what we will see. Two weeks of early voting brought less than 5 percent of the state's voters to the polls. Thursday, Secretary of State Ross Miller told us the final number may be as low as 15 percent, a record low.