CQ Voting Studies are an annual analysis of a member's support or opposition to a given position. Interest Group Ratings are based on rankings from groups chosen to represent liberal, conservative, business and labor viewpoints.Voting Participation scores are based on the number of times a member voted "yea" or "nay" on roll call votes (not including quorum calls in the House). CQ Vote Studies Year Presidential Support Party Unity   S* O* S O 1998 22% 78% 93% 7% 1997 29 68 88 8 S=Support; O=Oppose
Voting Participation Year % 1998 99 1997 96	Interest Groups Year ADA AFL-CIO CCUS ACU 1998 20% n/a 89% 92 % 1997 0 0 80 91
Note on Interest Groups: ADA=Americans for Democratic Action; AFL-CIO=American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations; CCUS=Chamber of Commerce of the United States; ACU=American Conservative Union

NEVADA 2 : Reno, the 'Cow Counties' and part of Clark County

The conservative-leaning 2nd takes in all of the state, except downtown Las Vegas and the town of Henderson. Reno and the capital, Carson City, anchor the 2nd in the west, while in the south the 1st's Las Vegas dominates. In the district's "Cow Counties," agriculture and ranching dominate. Nearly 90 percent of the district's land is federally owned.

In the 1800s, the gold rush attracted fortune seekers to Reno, the 2nd's largest city. Nowadays, fortune seekers are more inclined to try their luck in the city's glitzy casinos or head to Lake Tahoe. In recent years, though, gambling in Reno has not fared as well, and the industry is concerned that customers will flock to Indian reservation casinos in California. Yucca Mountain, the proposed national nuclear waste storage site located northwest of Las Vegas, also has been a contentious issue in the 2nd. The federal government is not expected to make a decision about the proposed plan until 2001.

The 2nd has sent Republicans to Congress since 1983. Redistricting in 1991 increased the 2nd's land and gave it more GOP territory. The 2nd votes mostly Republican in local elections and is becoming increasingly conservative.

Major Industry
Gaming, mining, manufacturing, warehousing

Military Bases
Nellis Air Force Base, 6,432 military, 939 civilian (1997); Fallon Naval Air Station, 1,164 military, 1,478 civilian (1998)

Population
600,791 (1990)

Cities
Reno, 155,499 (1996); Las Vegas (pt.), 68,654 (1990); Carson City, 47,237 (1996)

People
52% urban; 10% age 65+ (ranks second of two in state; bottom third nationally); 56% married couples, 26% married couples with children; 17% college educated (ranks first of two in state; middle third nationally); 54% white collar (ranks first of two in state; middle third nationally), 24% blue collar (ranks first of two in state; middle third nationally) (1990)

Race
89% white; 3% black, 3% Asian; 8% Hispanic origin (1990)

Median Household Income
$32,413 (ranks first of two in state; top third nationally) (1990)

Unusual Features
Nevada known for its "quickie divorces" - as long as one member of the couple is a Nevada resident, the couple need only wait six weeks to end a marriage; White King, a 10-foot, 4-inch tall polar bear on display in Elko, is said to be the world's largest polar bear.

© 2002 The Washington Post Company