A former porn star filed for governor, a former lieutenant governor filed to get his old job back, and a prominent criminal lawyer emerged to challenge the district attorney as candidate filing for the November elections drew to a close Friday.

Melody Damayo, who performed under the name Mimi Miyagi in movies such as "Seoul Train," appeared at the Sawyer Building downtown about 4:30 p.m. in a hot-pink pillbox hat, hot-pink high-heeled sandals and a very low-cut hot-pink suit. She was accompanied by an entourage she called her Campaign Cuties as well as two dark-suited bodyguards.

Damayo, who called herself the "former Asian Love Goddess," filed to run for governor as a Republican, saying one of her priorities would be anti-stalking legislation. She added that she hoped to address youth and gang violence "so they don't do it anymore."

Damayo, 32, is a native of the Philippines. She said she originally thought to run for mayor but was encouraged to run for governor by her friends. She has lived in Henderson for 13 years, she said.

Damayo said she retired from the adult film industry in 2003 with the film "Happy Ending."

"I have nothing left to hide," she said. "My slogan is, 'I'm bare and honest at all times.'"

Filing just after her was Dr. Lonnie Hammargren, the colorful lieutenant governor under former Gov. Bob Miller. Hammargren has also run for governor and Legislature and lost. His campaign manager, Bob McCaffery, summed up Hammargren's appeal: "He's a hoot."

Hammargren, 68, a retired neurosurgeon, said he was guided by the example of President Reagan, who was 69 when he was first elected president.

"I've got a lot of energy left," Hammargren said. "There are a lot of things I need to do for health care, senior issues and economic development."

Hammargren was wearing a pin from his gubernatorial campaign, with the letters "NV" taped over with "4 LT" so that it read "Dr. Lonnie Hammargren 4 LT Governor -- He Cares." Asked about reusing his old materials, he said, "I don't have any money to campaign!"

Over at the Clark County Government Center, Nevada Stupak, son of former gaming executive Bob Stupak and a former failed candidate, appeared at the Elections Department hoping to file for County Commission but was told he wasn't eligible because he had switched parties too recently.

Stupak filed for state Board of Education instead because no one else was running for it. But another candidate, Greg Nyberg Nance, jumped into the race against him, becoming the last candidate to file.

Although Stupak's name went up on the white board in the elections office, it was not posted on the county Web site Friday night. County officials could not be reached to ask whether there was a problem with Stupak's paperwork.

Stupak, 30, said he was running because, despite having previously lost bids for Las Vegas City Council and Clark County Commission, he was still trying to get his start in politics.

"It's a personal goal of mine," said Stupak, a mortgage broker.

On a more serious note, members of the legal community saw Frank J. Cremen's entry into the race for Clark County district attorney as a serious challenge to District Attorney David Roger. Both are Republicans. Cremen, a former chief deputy district attorney, has a prominent criminal law practice in Las Vegas.

What was remarkable about this year's two-week filing period wasn't the usual appearance of a few unusual contenders -- it was how few people had decided to run, said Clark County Registrar of Voters Harvard "Larry" Lomax.

"We expected a lot more candidates," Lomax said as the doors of the Elections Department closed after 5 p.m. "Normally there's a big line at the end (of filing). This year there was no line."

Lomax said there were about 35 percent fewer candidates on the first day of filing than he usually saw, a trend he said continued throughout the filing period.

Nonetheless, some races were very crowded by the close of business Friday, mostly seats for which there was no incumbent.

The most contested seat was Clark County sheriff, with 19 candidates in the race. Sheriff Bill Young said this week he would not seek re-election.

Next was the post of Clark County public administrator -- who administers the estates of people who die without wills -- with 12 candidates. Democrat Dan Ahlstrom is not running for re-election.

Scandal-ridden Clark County Recorder Fran Deane, a Republican, also is not running, but 10 candidates were lined up to take her place. Eleven candidates filed to run for lieutenant governor, nine for governor and eight each for all three of Nevada's congressional districts. The second district is open, but districts 1 and 3 have incumbents, Democrat Shelley Berkley and Republican Jon Porter.

Assembly Districts 26 and 36, both vacant, drew six and seven contenders, respectively. District 26 was vacated by Republican Sharron Angle, who is running for Congress, and District 36 formerly belonged to Republican Rod Sherer of Pahrump, who moved out of state because of a job transfer.

Also without an incumbent is Assembly District 22. Scott A. Sibley, R-Las Vegas, who has been beset by scandal, quietly decided not to run. Six candidates are in the running to replace him.

Other open seats are Assembly District 9, which Democrat Chris Giunchigliani left to run for Clark County Commission; Assembly District 21, with Republican Bob Seale retiring from politics; and Assembly District 23, formerly the district of Democratic Speaker Richard D. Perkins, also stepping out of politics.

While some candidates had a lot of competition, others were lucky enough to get a free ride, including a staggering 14 state legislators.

District Judge Michael Cherry, who has for several months been campaigning aggressively for the state Supreme Court seat being vacated by Justice Bob Rose, apparently succeeded in scaring away any potential competitors. He needs just one vote in November to win.

He wasn't the first to sail unimpeded onto the high court. Both Justice Nancy Becker and former Justice Deborah A. Agosti ran unopposed in 1998.

Las Vegas Justice of the Peace James M. Bixler was unopposed in his run for District Court.

District Judge Douglas W. Herndon and Clark County Treasurer Laura Fitzpatrick were unopposed for re-election.