UNDATED (CNN) -- We are just days away now from Election Day. And the candidates are putting a lot of their focus on battleground states like Nevada. It was one of the hardest hit states in the wake of the recession marred by high unemployment and foreclosure rates. But now, things are looking up.
About 70 percent of the votes in Nevada are in Clark County as this county goes, so goes Nevada.
In a city that fell harder and faster than just about any place in the country, the Stratosphere, like all Vegas, suffered the worst of the recession.
The Vegas landmark sunk more than $20 million into upgrades, including a new restaurant and the sky jump and most importantly more than 100 new jobs. Stratosphere Casino Hotel general manager Paul Hobson says, "It feels like it. I drive to work every day and see things going on that I haven't seen for a little while."
Things like construction and homes being built in a place that once had the nation's highest foreclosure rate. Chef Rick Giffen charts Vegas' decline, and rise, by a sort of entrée index. He says, "We were doing between 250 and 400 (dinners). Now, we're doing between 450 and 700 a night. Yeah, big recovery."
Comedy icon and Clark County voter Louie Anderson, who does four shows a week at the Palace Station, says the city is struggling back but he knows just how torn the country is. He says, "I think it's hard to be excited about Obama if you have not worked. And I love Obama. I understand the appeal of Romney in this situation."
Like voters everywhere, he is tired of the campaigning. He says, "Obama has been here more than Celine Dion has."
But hopeful that results, not politics, tops the agenda come January. He adds, "If we're gonna have the great country we had once, this is not going to be a Democrat or Republican thing. This is going to be an every single American thing."