This pair of printed pieces both pertain to Cornelius “Con” Ahern’s 1902 run for Republican State Senator representing Storey County, Nevada. A Virginia City pioneer, Con A. Ahern was a prominent figure in Nevada politics in the late 19th and early 20th century, running for governor in 1905. He was also a longtime proprietor of Virginia City’s famous Crystal Bar and ran the famed “International” hotel.

The first, a broadside, was printed by William Sutherland of Virginia city. it is fairly straightforward. It declares Ahern to be “the people’s choice,” ‘the poor man’s friend,” and “the favorite of young voters” and a vote for him is a “vote for good government.” The second, a handbill is the more dramatic of the two. It proclaims that Ahern, “Denounces as a damnable In-justice that he is pledged to Bill Stewart, and asks his friends to stand by him against such an infamous campaign lie.”

The “Bill Stewart” in question refers to long-time and deeply influential Nevada politician William M. Stewart, who became the state’s first senator in 1865. During his long tenure, he drafted the final version of the 15th Amendment, and famously employed Mark Twain as a personal secretary, among many other achievements. After leaving politics to practice law in 1875, he returned to run for office twice as a Silver Party Candidate, eventually rejoining the republican party in 1899. However, his last re-election was tarnished by rumors that he had intimidated his political opposition in the Nevada legislature.

This anti-Stewart sentiment was used as fodder against Ahern’s State Senate campaign since, before the ratification of the 17th Amendment in 1913, U.S. Senators were elected by State Legislatures. An opinion Winnemucca Silver State wrote that, “A vote for the Republican candidate for State Senator in this county is a vote for William M. Stewart, the traitor, for United States Senator two years hence.”