GOP ready for Gibbons to go

Two fairly prominent Republicans have already lined up to push Gov. Jim Gibbons out of office sooner rather than later.

North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon recently announced his gubernatorial candidacy. Today, former state Sen. Joe Heck of Las Vegas joined the race. It would not be surprising to see a couple more Republicans throw their hats in the ring before long.

This is unusual, not only for the early announcements but because these candidates are taking on a GOP incumbent. This isn’t supposed to happen, but Gibbons is such a bad governor that even his own party has abandoned him.

It seems likely to me that Gibbons will not be the Republican candidate in 2010, that he will be defeated in the primary by Montandon, Heck or somebody else. One hopes he will never be heard from again.

But that doesn’t mean Gibbons will have a Republican successor. The Democrats, too, are expected to field some high-powered candidates, including, perhaps, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley of Las Vegas. We still can’t rule out a bid by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman.

The ultimate winner will be the candidate who clearly expresses a vision for how Nevada is going to recover from the economic collapse that is unfolding while Gibbons twiddles his thumbs.