Georgiou halts run for U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON -- Las Vegas millionaire lawyer and businessman Byron Georgiou announced Wednesday he was quitting his run for the U.S. Senate, bringing to a close a long-shot bid that pitted him against Nevada's Democratic establishment.

Georgiou's departure clears a path for Rep. Shelley Berkley to win the Democrats' nomination for the 2012 election. Georgiou was the only declared challenger to the party-preferred Berkley.

"After thoughtful consideration, I have decided to terminate my campaign for the Democratic Party's 2012 nomination for the United States Senate," Georgiou said in a statement.

"I continue to believe that my background and experience well qualify me to serve in the Senate," Georgiou said. "However, at this time, I have concluded that I can more effectively contribute to resolution of the serious economic issues facing our state and nation through my work in the private sector, in the areas of clean energy, health care information technology, and broadband development."

Republicans had hoped Berkley would be softened up in a Democratic primary where the largely self-funded Georgiou would force her to spend money and lean left to appeal to more liberal primary voters.

With Georgiou out of the race, Berkley avoids all that, said Jennifer Duffy, a Senate analyst with the Cook Political Report.

The general election pitting Berkley against appointed incumbent Sen. Dean Heller, a former House member, essentially starts now, she said.

"For Dean Heller, this launches the general election sooner than he had hoped," Duffy said. "I do think Heller had thought he was going to have a little bit of a clear path to sort of get used to being in the Senate, to move around the state outside his old district. No such luck."

Heller campaign adviser Mike Slanker said that for Democrats, Georgiou's departure "makes it official -- they got a nominee who epitomizes what is wrong in Washington." Slanker said the "liberal congresswoman ... fought for Obama­Care, cap and trade energy taxes, Wall Street bailouts and failed stimulus."

Berkley said she will "continue to focus on the No. 1, 2 and 3 priorities for Nevada: jobs, jobs and more jobs.

"Nevada needs a senator who will fight to create jobs, protect Medicare and Social Security and stand up on behalf of our veterans," she said.

Recent tea leaves showed Georgiou facing a steep battle.

A poll last week by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic firm, found him trailing Berkley 71 percent-6 percent.

In fundraising, Georgiou struggled to raise money beyond the $1 million he had loaned to his own campaign. Beyond the loan, he raised $704,003 from outside donors but only $116,330 from April through June, the most recent three-month reporting period.

Georgiou also faced strong and un­mistakable headwinds from the state party led by U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.

Although Georgiou declared in June that he would not be "intimidated" by attacks from Democratic insiders intent on forcing him from the race, he might not have realized how intense the storm would be.

The fight broke into the open when Reid, the Senate majority leader, said in June he regretted placing Georgiou on the high-level Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, which investigated the 2008 near-collapse of the financial sector.

Georgiou might not have expected the pushback from Reid "was going to be quite this public," said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"I think obviously Reid made it pretty clear, and that sent a pretty significant cue to potential donors," Damore said.

With Georgiou no longer a candidate, Reid said Wednesday he was happy to let bygones be bygones.

"While Byron and I have had our differences in the past, I'm heartened by his decision today," Reid said in a statement.

Review-Journal writer Laura Myers and Stephens Washington Bureau writer Peter Urban contributed to this report. Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.