Sandoval Says He's Happy in Nevada Despite Push to Challenge Reid
Saturday, 15 Mar 2014 04:32 PM
By Sandy Fitzgerald
Some Republicans are looking to
popular Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval as the one person who
can drive Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid out of Washington in 2016, but the governor may
have other ideas.
Republican Sandoval has approval
ratings in the mid-60s, reports Politico Magazine, in contrast to Democrat
Reid, whose fierce partisan stance alienates people both sides of the aisle in
droves.
"It would be a wipeout,"
a political insider told Politico. "He is 100 percent the perfect
candidate against Harry Reid."
Reid has been facing the Sandoval
challenge for a long time. About 10 years ago, Reid appointed Sandoval to a
federal judgeship, which many at the time considered a move to remove the
Republican's threat and still get points for making a bipartisan appointment.
But Sandoval left the bench in
2009 in time to defeat Reid's son, Rory, for governor. Should Sandoval decide
to run for the Senate, he stands the chance of defeating a second member of the
Reid family for higher office.
Despite Republicans' hopes for
Sandoval, the governor seems perfectly content where he is.
He's a favorite for re-election,
reports The Reno-Gazette Journal, even though he's vying against 15 candidates
who met Friday's deadline to run against him.
"I think it is reflective of
the time that we have so many people coming out of the woodwork," Fred
Lokken, a political science professor at Truckee Meadows Community College,
told the Reno paper. "A lot of them are not credible, in my point of view.
But they may be thinking that people are going to listen to them and somehow,
they will make a difference."
Reid had promised that he would
back a well-known and "respectable" candidate, but none of the nine
Democrats who have filed for the race are that person, a possible indication
that Reid is not pushing a candidate who could defeat Sandoval and free him
from the governor's office.
The best hope for a strong
Democrat challenger ended last month when Clark County Commission Chairman
Steve Sisolak backed out of the race, reports the Journal, prompting Reid to
promise that the Nevada Democratic Party would find a strong candidate.
Sandoval said, when filing for
re-election, that he is taking all the gubernatorial candidates seriously, and
intends to serve all four years in office, despite speculation that he will
challenge Reid.
The governor told Politico that he
looks forward to going to work every day.
"I made decisions today that
affected the economy and tourism, that affected business and housing,"
Sandoval said. "I don’t think you can do that from 3,000 miles away."
However, Sandoval recruited state
Sen. Mark Hutchison as a candidate for lieutenant governor, marking the first
time a governor has chosen a candidate for that spot since 1986.
Sandoval says he regrets that the
media considers Hutchison's appointment a political move, insisting he is long
forward "four and 10 and 20 years," and that there is a need to
develop strong Republican leaders.
But Sandoval has had difficulty
turning down political opportunity in the past, and if party leaders come
calling, he may have a hard time turning them down, just as he did when
Republicans approached him to run for the governor's seat.
"I didn’t expect to be
approached by Gov. (Bob) Miller to sit on the Gaming Commission," he said.
"It never occurred to me as attorney general when I was approached to
serve as a federal judge."
Brian Sandoval
Brian Sandoval
is the Nevada state government governor, the vice chair for Jobs for America's Graduates, and an advisory committee member for
the Hispanic Leadership Network.
Note: Mark R. Warner was
a director at Jobs for America's
Graduates, the president of the Alfalfa
Club, and is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank).
Jeb
Bush is a member of the Alfalfa Club,
and an advisory committee member for the Hispanic
Leadership Network.
Hispanic
Leadership Network is an offshoot of the American Action Network.
Frederic V. Malek
is a member of the Alfalfa Club, the
founder & board member for the American
Action Network, and a trustee at the Aspen
Institute (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Aspen Institute (think
tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is the founder
& chairman for the Open Society
Foundations.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United
States (think tank).
C.
Boyden Gray is a director at the Atlantic
Council of the United States
(think tank), and a board member at the American Action Network.
Hispanic
Leadership Network is an offshoot of the American Action Network.
Brian Sandoval
is an advisory committee member for the Hispanic
Leadership Network, and the Nevada state government governor.
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