Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers drops bid for U.S. Senate

Now that Harry Reid has announced his retirement from the U.S. Senate, there’s no shortage of elected officials interested in the job. But Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers won’t be one of them.

Beers, a fiscal conservative who announced his candidacy more than a year ago, has decided not to run in 2016.

“When I announced my candidacy more than a year ago, Harry Reid was actively running for re-election and I was the only Republican office holder in the state with the courage to run against him,” Beers said in a message on his website early Monday evening. “His policies were so bad for Nevada, and for America, that I had decided to step up.”

But it’s also true that other Republicans, including Rep. Joe Heck, are said to be much more interested in running now that Reid won’t be in the opposite corner.

For his part, Beers spent six years in the Nevada Assembly and has been a fiscally tightfisted member of the city council. He’s also been an outspoken critic of the plan to use tax dollars to help construct a $200 million soccer stadium complex downtown. The plan failed.

According to his website, “He consistently describes being a councilman as ‘the most fun job I’ve ever had.’”

But wouldn’t even the long-shot chance to hold a seat in the U.S. Senate have been even more fun?

Again from the website: “My goal was to stop Harry Reid from another term and I have accomplished that goal. The Nevada Republican Party will have no problem recruiting from our deep bench to find someone to run for the open seat and work to reign in Washington. Meanwhile, I will be most effective serving the people of Las Vegas.”

Former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has announced her interest in succeeding Reid, who was quick to endorse her candidacy.