MICHAEL R. BLOOD, Associated Press

Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 | 6:39 p.m.

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Republicans outperformed Democrats getting to the polls in Nevada, a promising sign for Republican tea party favorite Sharron Angle in her dead-heat race with Majority Leader Harry Reid, figures showed Monday.

Final tallies for two weeks of in-person voting and a preliminary count of mail-in ballots for the state's two most populous counties, Clark and Washoe, gave Democrats about a 9,000-voter edge.

The slim margin stands out because Democrats hold a 60,000-voter edge in statewide registration.

The figures provide only a barometer of party turnout, and it's far from conclusive with Election Day coming Tuesday.

Democrats accounted for 162,801 in-person early voters - or 43 percent of the total - just over the party's share of registration. But the GOP turned out 156,264 early voters, or 41 percent of the total - that's 4 percentage points higher than party's registration in Nevada.

Democrats held a 21,502-to-19,087 edge in mail-in ballots for the two counties. Statewide figures for mail-in ballots were not immediately available.

A succession of polls have found the race is a dead heat, and campaign officials on both sides predict a close finish.

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