LAS VEGAS — Nevada Republicans meeting for a statewide convention in Las Vegas will decide this weekend whether to follow the lead of the state’s largest county and strip hot-button social issues from the party platform.
A vote scheduled for Saturday comes a few weeks after the Clark County Republican Party voted to remove platform language defining marriage as between a man and a woman and statements opposing abortion.
“I thought Clark County was a step in the right direction, and I expect the state will follow suit,” said Dan Schwartz, the state GOP’s finance chair. “Many people in the party have realized that if we don’t win, it doesn’t matter what we think.”
Many Republicans are reevaluating their strong stances on social issues as public opinion shifts in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage.
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The topics have become a political liability for the GOP, especially among younger voters, and don’t fit with the overall Republican belief in personal liberty, according to Clark County GOP political director Nick Phillips.
Some in the party, such as Assemblyman Ira Hansen, R-Sparks, panned efforts to scrub platforms of statements on social issues, saying it would further alienate the socially conservative GOP base.
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