Sheriff, DA comfortably out in front

Clark County voters appear ready to re-elect the sheriff and district attorney by a better than 2-to-1 margin on Tuesday, according to a new poll.

Sheriff Doug Gillespie was favored by 66 percent of likely voters and challenger Laurie Bisch by 28 percent, according to the survey conducted for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and 8NewsNow. District Attorney David Roger was favored by 61 percent of the voters and challenger Don Chairez by 30 percent, according to the poll.

A total of 405 registered Clark County voters participated in the telephone survey conducted Monday to Wednesday . All said they vote regularly in state elections. The margin of error is plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Pollster Brad Coker of Washington D.C.-based Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. said he wasn't surprised about how voters responded to the incumbents in both races.

"I don't think (Gillespie) has been tested. He tends to win by big margins," Coker said. "I would suspect Roger has access to more money as the incumbent and all of the endorsements. Chairez's problem is he just can't match Roger's resources."

Talk of officer-involved shootings and coroner's inquests in two high-profile cases dominated this election season for both races.

Erik Scott and Trevon Cole were shot and killed by officers of the Metropolitan Police Department in separate incidents earlier this year. Their cases sparked controversy and intense media coverage. The two dead men became the faces of a demand for change, and a panel of county officials was formed to examine the coroner's inquest.

Despite community discontent, voters continue to support Gillespie, who is seeking a second four-year term in the nonpartisan race, according to the polls.

"I'm feeling pretty good; I've been out and about quite a bit," Gillespie said. "I'm confident. We've done a good job over the last four years. We've gotten the message out and have been very transparent and approachable to the public. Right now my feeling is we'll let the decision be made on Election Day."

Bisch, a patrol officer who lost to Gillespie in 2006, said she remains optimistic about Tuesday's election.

"I'm nervous of course; I'm not unrealistic," she said. "I know he has a lot more name recognition and a distinct advantage, but what I have going for me is a community not happy with its police department."

She was critical of the polling, saying results are determined by who runs the polls and how the questions are asked. She said her own polling shows a much closer race.

"I don't put a whole lot of credibility into polls other than coming up with a strategic plan," Bisch said. "There's a lot to learn from polling, but the best indicator of a poll isn't what the outcome will be. It helps determine strategy and what concerns voters have."

Roger, a Republican running for a third term as district attorney, won over a majority of undecided voters to lengthen his lead. In an early September poll, 41 percent of the likely voters said they were undecided in the DA's race. Nine percent of the voters were undecided in this week's poll, and Roger's support has jumped 24 percentage points in the past six weeks.

"We are cautiously optimistic we will be successful Tuesday," Roger said. "We have run a positive campaign, and I believe that resonates with voters. Negative campaigns tend to turn off people and provide them with little reason to vote for the person slinging mud."

His comments took a stab at Democratic challenger Chairez, who ran television spots accusing Roger of giving preferential treatment, "sweetheart deals," to socialite Paris Hilton for campaign contributions from her lawyer.

Hilton was arrested in August in Las Vegas for cocaine possession. Her Las Vegas-based attorney, David Chesnoff, has given to Roger's campaign consistently since 2001.

Chairez said that while his advertisements have gained attention, voters are paying more attention to the U.S. Senate race and other larger races that are overshadowing the DA's race.

"The bottom line is, if this is going to be a big Republican year, he will win," Chairez said. "If the Democrats turn out their people, then we will have a good chance in order to pull it off. There are forces beyond our control, and we've done the best we could."

Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.