GOP leader in Nevada, focuses on winning the ground war

As far as the RNC's Frank Donatelli is concerned, the votes are already there for presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain to take Nevada in November. Now, he said, it's up to the GOP to go out and take them.

Donatelli -- the deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee -- visited the Silver State Monday. He said McCain holds a substantive policy advantage over his presumptive Democratic opponent, U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), on a number of issues Nevadans care about.

"As far as the message war, we think Sen. McCain has the advantage on taxes, increasing production of domestic energy sources, and being ready as commander-in-chief from day one," Donatelli told PolitickerNV.com.

Donatelli was in Nevada to work on the GOP's "Victory Campaign," which features coordinated phone bank efforts, door-to-door campaigning and direct mailings. Donatelli said that, if done right, the campaign will lead to a McCain victory.

"The idea is we have one central program that identifies McCain voters where they are, so that if we get them out on Election Day, we'll win the state," Donatelli said. "Nevada is going to be a close race, but I'm confident," in a McCain victory.

Donatelli was unfazed by recent registration numbers that suggest Democrats now have an advantage over Republicans in the state, though he did say increasing Republican registration is a big priority for party leaders.

"The Democrats benefitted a lot from their primary, which went on a long time," Donatelli said. "We want to ramp up our registration program, especially in a growing state like Nevada."

While he said the buzz from an extended primary race did help the Democrats, Donatelli said the protracted battle between Obama and U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) gave Republicans a jump-start on fundraising and laying out a general election strategy.