Nevada GOP passing on some candidates

Dr. Annette Teijeiro, a first-time candidate for state Senate, would seem to be the perfect Republican recruit to run for public office in Nevada.

She's Hispanic, which is a powerful voting bloc the GOP is trying to lure away from Democrats.

She's accomplished, an anesthesiologist in private practice and the mother of three.

She's a longtime Nevadan and a graduate of Bishop Gorman High School, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

Yet she finds herself on the outside looking in. She has been passed over by Senate Republican leaders who instead anointed former Henderson City Councilman Steve Kirk to run for Senate District 5, a seat that Teijeiro is still seeking on her own and against the odds.

"They have the right to choose whomever they want," said Teijeiro, 50. "I believe I'm the best candidate. But they're the cards that I've been dealt, so I just move forward. It's their loss."

Senate Republican leaders believe it will be their gain, however.

The Senate Republican Caucus endorsed Kirk as soon as he announced his campaign in November, believing he's the strongest candidate for Senate District 5 given his government experience, Nevada roots and name recognition. The 52-year-old grew up in Henderson and served on the City Council 12 years before losing the Henderson mayor's race to Andy Hafen in 2009 by 45 votes.

"In today's politics you need to be pragmatic," Kirk said. "I'm known to the community. I have a record I can stand by. I think I did a lot of good work to improve the quality of life in Henderson."

Backing Kirk even before the official candidate filing period opens March 5 is part of a Senate Republican Caucus strategy to promote its top GOP picks in the most competitive Senate races that are key to the GOP hopes of retaking control of the Senate from Democrats in 2012.

The caucus endorsed Kirk, Assemblyman Scott Hammond, attorney Mark Hutchison and Sen. Greg Brower in their Senate races, promising money and support to discourage primary competition.

The conservative Keystone Corp., which advocates low taxes and less regulation on business, also endorsed the four, giving them $5,000 each with plans to donate the maximum $10,000 to individuals.

State Sen. Michael Roberson, head of the GOP caucus, said Republicans don't want to take any chances in what they see as the best opportunity in the coming years to win back the Senate.

"This is our moment. We have to be as competitive as we can," Roberson said. "I've got nothing against the other candidates who want to run, but I think we've got the best candidates to win."

ELECTION WRINKLES

Even the best laid plans can't account for election-year bumps, however.

Last week, two surprising developments put the GOP on defense and increased the odds that the Democrats will be able to hold on to their slim 11-10 Senate majority or even expand it.

State Sen. Sheila Leslie, D-Reno, announced Wednesday she would resign her safe Senate seat to challenge Brower in the new Senate District 15. Leslie is well-known and a tough campaigner.

Then on Friday, state Sen. Elizabeth Halseth, R-Las Vegas, suddenly resigned her seat, putting it in play for the 2012 election. She cited a messy divorce and child custody battle for quitting her Senate District 9 seat two years before she was up for re-election in 2014.

Now, Roberson is faced with recruiting a strong GOP candidate in a fifth open Senate seat.

The Senate GOP caucus put out a statement, saying it respected Halseth's decision. Behind the scenes, Republican leaders acknowledged her departure will cause them more problems in 2012 -- and require more money and time to battle Democrats for the seat. But one GOP insider cautioned not to dismiss Republican chances of retaining the seat, although it leans Democratic.

"Don't write off (the) Halseth seat quite yet," said Ryan Erwin, a GOP Senate caucus adviser. "Roberson has a history of recruiting the best and I have no doubt will do so again."

Senate District 9 is 40 percent Democratic and 35 percent Republican, which amounts to a 2,109-registered-voter advantage for Democrats out of a total 59,152 voters, according to updated Clark County figures. In 2010, the conservative Halseth won the seat despite the Democratic advantage.

BATTLEGROUND DISTRICTS

In 2008, Republicans lost Senate Districts 5 and 6, relinquishing control of the Senate for the first time in 18 years as Democrats rode the presidential election wave for Barack Obama to victory.

Democrats now control the Senate 11-10. They also rule the Assembly, 26-16, giving the party power to block GOP legislation and Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's budget and policy proposals.

To reclaim the Senate, the GOP had targeted districts 5 and 6, which both lean Democratic and new districts 18 in Southern Nevada and 15 in Northern Nevada, which both lean Republican.

Democrats are just as intently focused on the battleground districts up for grabs in 2012, predicting the party will expand its majority by a seat or two and spoil GOP hopes.

"We think we've got a good team and good candidates, giving us an opportunity to expand," said Sen. Mo Denis of Las Vegas, head of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Below is a look at the state of play in four of the battleground districts:

■ Senate District 5: Democratic Sen. Shirley Breeden is retiring rather than run for re-election. Steve Kirk and Annette Teijeiro are competing in the GOP primary. Democrat Joyce Woodhouse, a former senator who lost re-election in 2010, has been endorsed by the Senate Democratic Caucus. Democrats have a voter registration edge, 41 percent to 37 percent for Republicans.

■ Senate District 6: Democrat Allison Copening is retiring rather than run for re-election. Mark Hutchison, the GOP-endorsed pick, is the attorney leading Nevada's legal challenge to Obama's health care reform law, giving him a high profile in the state. Hutchison doesn't have any GOP primary opposition. The Democratic Senate Caucus has endorsed Benny Yerushalmi, who lost his first Senate race in 2010 to Halseth in another district. Democrats have a voter registration edge, 42 percent to 38 percent for Republicans.

■ Senate District 15: Republican Sen. Greg Brower is seeking the new Reno seat after he was appointed in 2011 to complete the term of retired state Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno. Brower is a former two-term assemblyman who in 2002 lost a GOP primary to Sharron Angle, a conservative who served several terms and lost a U.S. Senate race in 2010. There's no GOP primary competition yet. Brower, a former U.S. attorney for Nevada, will have a tough general election battle, facing Democratic state Sen. Sheila Leslie. She stunned colleagues by announcing last week she would resign her safe Senate seat to run against Brower instead. The district leans Republican, 40 percent to 38 percent.

■ Senate District 18: The new district in northwest Las Vegas leans Republican, 40 percent compared with 38 percent Democrat. Scott Hammond, a first-term assemblyman, is facing a GOP primary with Assemblyman Richard McArthur who has served two terms. McArthur has one of the most conservative voting records in the Assembly but was passed over for a Senate GOP caucus endorsement. For the Democrats, Kelli Ross, the wife of Las Vegas City Councilman Steve Ross, said Monday she will run for the seat in her first bid for public office. Ross called herself "very conservative," saying she would listen to both Republicans and Democrats. "I am not partisan."

McArthur said he was disappointed GOP leaders backed Hammond over him, but he dismissed party politics and said he is confident he can win the Republican primary and the seat in the fall. He noted he voted against a $620 million tax extension package that Hammond backed in 2011.

"It's kind of a funny thing to say that I'm an outsider because there are a lot of people backing me and wanting me to win," said McArthur, who was walking his new district on Friday to meet voters. "I think I am going to win. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't think I could win."

McArthur, who is retired, said he plans to campaign on the ground every day until the June 12 primary. Hammond, a teacher, might not have as much time to meet constituents, McArthur said.

"I'm working a lot harder," McArthur said. "I've been around here a long time."

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.