Sandoval stays out of talk about vacant U.S. Supreme Court position

Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has been drawn into speculation swirling around President Barack Obama's pending pick for the U.S. Supreme Court, declined to comment Saturday when asked about the talk of him as a consensus candidate.

"It's an honor and humbling to be mentioned," said Sandoval, who is in Washington, D.C., to attend the National Governors Association's annual winter meeting.

"As a former federal judge, I have immense and passionate respect for the U.S. Supreme Court."

Asked whether he would even consider such a potential option, he again made it clear he wanted to stay out of the guessing game that has become a sport for the news media and others in the nation's capital.

"I will cross that bridge if it ever comes," Sandoval said. "It is pure media speculation right now. I've had no conversations with the White House."

He took that same approach when asked to weigh in on the partisan controversy between Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, who say Obama must exercise his constitutional duty and submit a nomination to the Senate for consideration, and Republicans who say the president should leave that to his successor next year.

"I am not going to comment on the politics of the nomination," Sandoval said, adding his answer would be the same on whether the Senate should act on Obama's selection. "I'm just going to be watching the process, just like everybody else."

Sandoval preferred to talk about the guest he had invited to accompany him Saturday to the White House event with all of the governors.

He is taking his mother, Teri Sandoval of Carson City, who just turned 79 and is "doing great" after open-heart surgery five months ago.

"For her birthday, I asked her if she would come, and so she is going to be my guest at the White House," the governor said.

— Jim Myers

Education Board race

Mark Newburn, who the State Board of Education recently selected as its vice president, will run to keep his seat on the board.

Newburn, elected to the position in 2012, announced his re-election campaign in a news release Thursday. He represents the board's 4th District, which includes about half of the state and parts of Clark County.

Newburn, a computer scientist and small-business owner, has served as the board's most vocal supporter of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. Gov. Brian Sandoval recently appointed Newburn to the state's STEM advisory council, and he chairs a committee charged with studying Nevada's high school graduation requirements.

"The new state board has put a laser-like focus on chronically underperforming schools, especially in poor communities," Newburn, a Rancho High School and UNLV graduate, said in a statement.

— Neal Morton

— Contact Neal Morton at nmorton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279. Find him on Twitter: @nealtmorton Contact Jim Myers at jmyers@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @myers_dc