Douglas Republicans call for Raggio's resignation

Douglas County Republicans are calling for State Sen. William Raggio, R-Reno, to resign from his position as Nevada Senate Minority Leader.

Raggio's support of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid over Republican candidate Sharron Angle prompted the demand.

"Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio's recent statements in support of Senator Harry Reid and Senator Raggio's recent legislative performance clearly demonstrate a failure to keep faith with Republican principles, and display a profound disrespect for the implicit moral covenant between elected officials and their constituents to perform honorably, and

Whereas Senator Raggio has already shown his disregard toward the wishes of the Republican Party in the state of Nevada by the setting aside of our party platform in voting to override the governor's veto for a major tax increase in the last legislative session, therefore

Be it resolved... that the Douglas County Republican Central Committee demands that Senator Raggio immediately resign his position as Senate Minority Leader, or that if he fails to do so the Republican Senate Caucus remove Senator Raggio from his leadership roles prior to the next legislative session," the resolution reads.

Raggio, R-Reno, regarded as the most powerful and respected Republican in Nevada, announced Thursday he will support Democrat Harry Reid over Sharron Angle in the closely contested U.S. Senate race.

In an open letter, Raggio slammed Angle's legislative record and what he referred to as her extreme positions on the issues.

He also mentioned Angle's negative campaign against him for the Nevada Senate seat, saying she distorted his record, calling him a liar and a RINO (Republican In Name Only.)

"I never heard one word from her, or a concession, or an offer of support," he wrote. "Instead, she lent aid and comfort to an effort to recall me as state senator."

He said he was willing to put those issues behind him.

"What is difficult to overlook is her record of being totally ineffective as a four-term assemblywoman, her inability or unwillingness to work with others, even within her own party, and her extreme positions on issues such as Medicare, Social Security, education, veterans affairs and many others," he wrote.

Raggio said his natural desire to endorse a Republican for U.S. Senate was eliminated this past week when Angle, in her conversation with Tea Party candidate Scott Ashjian, "expressed her true feelings by slamming and disavowing the Republican Party, saying it had 'lost its standards and principles.'"

For all those reasons, Raggio said he can't support Angle.

"We need someone in the U.S. Senate who can be effective, work with others and best represent the interests of our state," Raggio said.