State GOP prepare to elect new leader at Las Vegas meeting

The Nevada Republican Party Central Committee plans to meet Sunday in Las Vegas to elect a new chairman, the third state GOP leader in two years during a key election year.

GOP insiders view former Las Vegas City Councilman Michael McDonald as the front-runner for the post thanks to his deep ties in Southern Nevada, where 60 percent of the state's Republicans live.

Washoe County Republican Party Chairman Dave Buell, the only other declared candidate, is seen as a strong contender, however. The former state GOP treasurer has boosted GOP voter registration in Washoe to give Republicans a slight advantage over Democrats in the battleground Reno area.

Former chairwoman Amy Tarkanian resigned following the Feb. 4 GOP presidential caucus to help her husband, Danny Tarkanian, run for Congress. She served about eight months in the job, replacing Mark Amodei, who won a U.S. House seat in a special election last year in rural and Northern Nevada.

The central committee is set to open the meeting at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Gold Coast. The meeting and election is expected to take two hours, including time for candidate speeches. Several hundred Republicans sit on the committee, but can vote by proxy as well.

McDonald, in a written message to Republicans two weeks ago, said he has a proven ability to raise money, which will be needed to defeat President Barack Obama in November.

"It will be critical that the Nevada state chairman have the capability to personally reach out to the power players in Clark County so that we can begin to build our war chest to beat Obama come fall," McDonald wrote, adding he wants to bring GOP factions together, as well. "As chairman, my objectives will be to bring integrity, leadership and transparency back to the party."

Although McDonald is popular within the party, the former police officer also has had to answer questions about his past ethics problems while in office. In 2001, the state Ethics Commission found McDonald violated rules by urging the city to enter a business deal that would have benefited his boss.

Last week, McDonald was the center of attention as he won City Council approval for an affordable housing project with $11 million in public subsidies despite objections from city staffers.

Buell said one of his top goals is to boost GOP voter registration statewide just as he has in Washoe County. At the end of last month, Democrats statewide had a 35,000 registered voter advantage over Republicans, resulting in a 41 percent to 37 percent split of the electorate. The remaining 22 percent of Nevada voters are either registered as non-partisan or with third parties.

Four years ago, the more organized Nevada Democratic Party registered 100,000 new voters to help Obama win. The party is now once again turning up its election-year registration drive.

Buell, in a biography submitted to the GOP central committee, said he would bring "experience, integrity and commitment" to the post if elected. He also said his goal is to "ensure that the party continues to build respect with the business community, donors and the elected officials throughout the state and ensure we make major gains during the 2012 elections."

In the past few years, the Nevada GOP has been rife with divisions, including by tea party factions and supporters of GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul. The Texas congressman's backers have been slowly taking over the party by gaining leadership positions at the county level and by electing delegates to the state convention, which will elect 28 Nevada delegates to the national GOP convention in Tampa.

Mitt Romney won Nevada's Feb. 4 GOP caucus with 50 percent of the vote and is expected to wrap up the GOP nomination, but Paul, who finished third, and his supporters remain active.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.