Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Gibbons has not won the endorsement of current Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn, and he isn't getting support from either of Guinn's sons. But Gibbons' campaign isn't hurting for money. Ads bashing his Democratic opponent, Dina Titus, began airing on television last week. Photo by Jeff Scheid.
Democratic congressional candidate Tessa Hafen is challenging Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., to debate her nearly every week for the next two months. Photo by Craig L. Moran.
Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn won't endorse Republican gubernatorial nominee Jim Gibbons, and Guinn's eldest son has given a hefty donation to Gibbons' opponent. Could Gibbons take solace in having at least one Guinn on his side?
Not really, it turns out.
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Gibbons received a $500 donation in March from the Steven Guinn Insurance Agency, a tantalizing sign that perhaps the governor's younger son, a district manager for Farmers Insurance in Las Vegas, was a supporter.
But Steven Guinn, asked about the donation, said it wasn't his idea. It was done by Farmers' political action committee. He said he wasn't sure who he'd be voting for, saying, "I haven't made up my mind completely yet."
Guinn said he was relieved to be paying relatively little attention to the governor's race this time around. His main feeling about the election, he said, was: "It'll be very nice to have my dad back."
Steven Guinn's older brother, Las Vegas Republican businessman Jeffrey Guinn, recently funneled $30,000 to Democrat Dina Titus.
No Guinns, Lots of Green
The Gibbons campaign may be hurting for Guinns, but it isn't hurting for money. Gibbons' ads bashing Titus began airing on television last week and will continue through Election Day, according to the campaign. That's an early start to a television campaign, especially a negative one, analysts agreed.
Gibbons is believed to have much more money to spend on his campaign than Titus does -- as of Aug. 3, he had $1.8 million on hand, while Titus had $180,000 -- and going on television early allows him to exploit that advantage, said Republican political consultant Pete Ernaut.
"It's a pretty traditional strategy, when you have more money, to try to put it into play right away and define the differences between you and your opponent," he said.
But Democratic political consultant Gary Gray said the early attack campaign is a sign the Gibbons camp senses danger.
"It's early to go on, and it's early to go negative," Gray said. "He's got to be very worried."
Gray said he didn't expect Gibbons' financial advantage to effectively steamroll Titus' campaign. He noted that Titus faced a similar situation in the primary: Her opponent, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, spent almost twice as much money as she did. Gibson was on the air with commercials for more than a month before Titus went on television to respond. Titus beat Gibson in the Aug. 15 primary by 17 points.
"Voters aren't going to begin to make decisions until October," Gray said. "No votes are being locked down now."
Debating the Debates
Gibbons and Titus had agreed to four debates as of last week, but it wasn't enough for Titus: She demanded six and said she'd be game for as many as 14. Asked about whether he was reluctant to debate his opponent in a recent television interview, Gibbons said, "Maybe she's just a professor and here all the time, but I have to work 2,500 miles away."
That riled the state Democratic Party, which put out an angry statement accusing Gibbons of "insulting educators" by implying that a professor's job was more trivial than a congressman's.
"Dina Titus is an accomplished author, respected professor and serves as a leader in the state Senate, yet she makes herself available to speak to constituents and debate the issues with her opponents," Democratic Party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said in the statement.
But it turns out Titus doesn't have to do much juggling: She's on an unpaid leave of absence from her political science professorship at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, her campaign acknowledged. So it's true that she has a lot more time to debate than Gibbons.
Searer said the point was Gibbons' snide tone in referring to "just a professor." And she noted that Gibbons has been off work for a month, while Congress has been in its August recess, and hasn't made himself available.
"Clearly, it's not an issue of whether or not he has time," she said. "He's obviously ducking these debates."
More Debating the Debates
Speaking of debates, Democratic congressional candidate Tessa Hafen challenged her opponent, incumbent Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., to debate her nearly every week for the next two months. On Wednesday, she began calling for "three debates in September and at least one each of the following weeks until Election Day," and she followed up with daily statements counting the days since the beginning of the challenge.
On Friday, Porter campaign chairman Mike Slanker said the challenge had arrived in the campaign office but he had been out of town and didn't yet know how the campaign would respond. "We will take a look at it next week," he said.
"We will debate," Slanker said. "I'm sure there will be plenty."
Slanker said Hafen's performance at a recent candidates' forum suggested calling for debates might not be a good move on the part of the former press secretary to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.
"She is not comfortable (debating) because she has no real-world experience," Slanker said. "She's never made a mortgage payment, a payroll, or even had a job in Nevada. She has very little to draw on but talking points prepared by the Democratic National Committee."
Hafen, a native of Henderson, moved back from Washington earlier this year and works part time as a substitute teacher.
Hafen said in a prepared statement that debates were necessary to expose Porter's record.
"Unlike my opponent, I will not be a rubber stamp. ... I believe the voters have a real choice this election: more of the same failed policies or a vote for serious change," Hafen said.
Out of the Top Three
Hafen and fellow Nevada Democratic congressional candidate Jill Derby have been widely touted as two of the challengers the national Democratic Party hopes can win seats in the House of Representatives that currently belong to Republicans. But they're not in the top three, apparently.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last week announced the results of its "Candidate for Change" contest, an online poll that asked party activists to pick candidates who would be featured for support. The winners were three women Democratic challengers: Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, Mary Jo Kilroy of Ohio and Patty Wetterling of Minnesota.
Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman Searer said the poll wasn't a cause for concern. "Tessa and Jill are consistently ranked by the DCCC and other national organizations as two of the top priorities in the country," she said. "This is just one Internet poll. They're there on every list of the top targets."
