Nevada Assembly Leader Pat Hickey, the top Republican in the state’s assembly, said in an interview with the Dan Mason radio show that 2014 will be a great year for the GOP because “A lot of minorities, a lot of younger people will not turn out in a non-presidential. It’s a great year for Republicans.”
n response to Hickey’s offensive remarks, Kiara Pesante, DNC Regional Press Secretary and Director of African American Media, released the following statement:
“With these comments, Pat Hickey is making it even clearer why Republicans across the country are working so hard to restrict voting rights. From North Carolina to Ohio, Republican governors and legislatures are enacting harsh voter ID laws that make it more difficult for seniors, young people and people of color to vote. With the twisted logic that Hickey so prominently put on display, Republicans believe that shutting people out is the best way to grow their party’s influence and win elections. Meanwhile, Democrats are leading the charge to expand voting rights for all eligible voters. The GOP’s tactics didn’t pay off in 2012, and it’s hard to see them paying off in 2014 with this backwards, exclusionary approach.”
Full quote of Pat Hickey’s interview:
We have some real opportunities in 2014, this is a great year in an off-presidential election. No Democrat on the top of the ticket against Sandoval, no Harry Reid, probably where we had a million voters turn out in 2012, we’ll have 700,000. A lot of minorities, a lot of younger people will not turn out in a non-presidential. It’s a great year for Republicans.
