GOP’s Cegavske joins battle for 4th Congressional seat

GOP state Sen. Barbara Cegavske on Thursday launched an uphill bid for the House, running for Southern Nevada's newest congressional seat in a Democratic-leaning district.

The conservative Republican's entry into the race for the 4th Congressional District, which is rural and urban, sets up a stark choice for voters in November 2012, if she wins the GOP nomination in June.

Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, would face the winner of the Democratic primary between state Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, and state Sen. John Lee, D-North Las Vegas. Both Democrats have been on the opposite side of Cegavske on major issues.

As an example, during the 2011 Legislature, Cegavske opposed a bill that extended $620 million in taxes that otherwise would have expired on June 30. Her anti-tax vote came although her own party leader, GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, backed the plan to balance the budget, as did Horsford and Lee.

"There is definitely a contrast between the two of us," Cegavske said in an interview, referring to herself and Horsford, one of the more liberal members of the state Senate. "This is a plus-Democrat seat, but my Senate seat has always been plus 4 or 5 (percent) Democrat and I always win with double-digits. So I feel pretty confident we'll be able to get those crossover voters and ticket splitters."

Cegavske said she's been in touch with the National Republican Congressional Committee, which reached out to her as it recruits GOP candidates to keep control of the House. The senator said she and her advisers discussed how she has a potential path to victory despite Democratic confidence.

"They're looking at the seat in a whole new way," she said, adding she expects the national committee's support.

Cegavske, 60, is midway through her last four-year state Senate term. She cannot run for re-election because of term limits. She said she wants to serve in Congress because Washington isn't doing enough now to solve economic problems that have dragged down Nevada and the nation.

"I am running for Congress because I believe we can fix the serious problems facing Nevada and our country," Cegavske said in a statement announcing her bid. "Our state leads the nation in unemployment and foreclosures and for far too long Washington politicians have been out of touch."

She said she would make jobs a priority if elected and promised to protect entitlement programs, a sensitive issue as Democrats attack the GOP for moving to reform the systems to save money.

"Nevada voters have my word that I will work every day to get government out of the business of punishing our job creators and in the business of protecting and preserving Social Security and Medicare for our seniors," said Cegavske, without getting more specific.

Cegavske filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to allow her to raise funds as a candidate and spend money. She said she planned to formally launch her campaign in January and tour the district. She does not live in the district, which is not required under the law.

"I've been able to represent the state of Nevada living in (Senate) District 8," Cegavske said, adding she's been involved in the wider community for decades. "I've been here 37 years."

One other Republican has filed to run in the district so far, Dan Schwartz, a political unknown. The businessman and publisher helped launch an Asian venture capital journal and lives in Las Vegas.

The 4th Congressional District includes parts of urban North Las Vegas in Clark County, a part of Lyon County and all of five other rural counties: Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine.

Overall, Democrats have a voter registration advantage over Republicans in the district of nearly 13 percentage points, according to U.S. Census figures from 2010. Republicans think the gap may be smaller, perhaps as narrow as 7 to 8 percentage points, because of growing GOP voter registration.

Cegavske's adviser Ryan Erwin said she has a record of performing better than registration at the ballot box, including in her last two Senate races in 2006 and 2010, when her district leaned Democrat. She has been in the state Senate since 2002 and before that had been in the Assembly since 1996.

The state Democrats targeted her in 2010 with 16 or 17 "brutal mailings," according to Erwin, who said she was outspent 2-to-1 as well and still won re-election by more than 11 percentage points.

"Barbara is battle tested in both primaries and general elections," Erwin said.

Another reason for Cegavske to jump into the race -- even if she loses -- is to raise her name recognition and broaden her donor and supporter base for a potential run for statewide office in 2014.

Cegavske has expressed interest in the lieutenant governor's job. Beyond that, there will be a wide-open playing field with all of the top state office jobs up for grabs in 2014, except for the governor's office with Sandoval expected to run for a second term.

"If she gets close, it might open up a few other opportunities," said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas who gives her almost no chance of winning. "Even if the Democratic primary is nasty, I don't think it'll matter. It's just too tough for her."

Cegavske has a long record of voting against taxes, which would appeal to GOP base voters and could play well among some of the district's 15 percent of nonpartisan voters as well.

Cegavske was one of only two state Senate Republicans in 2003 who voted against $830 million in tax increases supported by then Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn as necessary to fund education.

She also voted against adding $800 million in taxes in 2009, even though the proposal was engineered by state Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno.

Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel contributed to this report. Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.