Brian Sandoval flees the center

As the race for Nevada governor started taking shape last year, it became clear that if a decent Republican emerged to challenge incumbent Jim Gibbons, he or she would have the best chance of winning not only the GOP primary but the general election as well. Although the Democrats have a worthy candidate in the race, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, Nevada voters seem inclined to lean right in 2010.

When Brian Sandoval gave up his federal judgeship to seek the Republican nomination, the ideal candidate seemed to be in place. Sandoval was a moderate, someone who, unlike Gibbons, at least would try to work across party lines to tackle the pressing matters plaguing the state. His record suggested a desire to pursue pragmatic solutions, not ideological posturing.

As a left-of-center Nevadan, I saw Sandoval as a breath of fresh air after the noxious incompetence of Gibbons. The fact that Sandoval grew up in Nevada and that he and I briefly crossed paths at the University of Nevada, Reno in the mid-'80s didn't hurt in my book.

But things have changed. Sandoval has abandoned his moderate reputation in favor of the furious rhetoric of the far right.

Sandoval, who is Hispanic, has come out in support of the hotly contested Arizona immigration law, as well as other immigration reform proposals. At a recent debate in Reno, he said, "I would support Arizona's law. I do not support amnesty. I do not support driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants."

His unequivocal opposition to driver's licenses for illegal immigrants contradicts a previous statement in which he indicated he would seriously consider supporting them. "Folks who are gonna be out driving anyway, we should know who they are, they should be insured," he said previously. "That protects everybody."

What happened to this practical view?

As you might imagine, Sandoval's support for the Arizona law has outraged many Hispanic voters. Although this probably won't matter in the Republican primary, Hispanic activists vow that it will have a big impact on his chances if he reaches the general election. Some Hispanic Democrats were prepared to cross party lines to help elect Nevada's first Hispanic governor. Now they're inclined to support Reid.

In that same Reno debate, Sandoval vowed that if elected, he'll be "vetoing any tax" that crosses his desk, despite the fact that the state faces an almost unimaginable $3 billion budget shortfall next year. This position mirrors the 2006 campaign position of Gibbons, who stubbornly stuck to his pledge until earlier this year, when he had little choice but to approve several "revenue enhancements" to fill an $800 million budge hole. If elected, Sandoval will be faced with overseeing even bigger and more painful budget cuts if he won't even discuss proposals to increase taxes.

Last but not least, Sandoval's position on health care reform provided a window into what's going on in his campaign. At first, he opposed Gibbons' crackpot plan to file a lawsuit to stop health care reform. As a former Nevada attorney general and federal judge, Sandoval's first instinct was to oppose a lawsuit. But after testing the political winds, Sandoval abruptly changed course, saying he supported legal action.

There's no question Sandoval's historically moderate reputation doesn't play well with the Tea Party crowd, an extreme-right minority that has gained undue influence through the volume and viciousness of its rhetoric. From the standpoint of pure strategy, Sandoval is wise to steer to the right during the primary season.

But for those who still believe the real work gets done in the center of the political spectrum, Sandoval's opportunistic rightward lurch is a troubling sign that he's not the candidate we thought he was. As New York Times columnist David Brooks noted recently, the nation's political discourse has fallen back into the "stale, old debate" about big government vs. small government, with both sides taking up positions far to the right and left of the center. As a result, very little is accomplished.

Initially, Sandoval and Reid both looked like candidates who would try to occupy the center and pursue workable bipartisan answers to Nevada's many problems. Previous governors such as Mike O'Callaghan, Bob Miller and Kenny Guinn were able to do this. But in his pursuit of far-right votes, Sandoval seems prepared to abandon much of what he stood for previously.

Reid, meanwhile, has remained in the center. To be fair, it's politically easier for him to do so. If Reid had a strong Democratic primary challenger from the left, he could have felt the pressure to adopt more liberal positions. I suspect, however, that Reid entered the race with a well-defined sense of who he is and what he stands for. That may not be enough to get him elected in November, but at least he'll be able to say he was true to himself during the campaign.

Geoff Schumacher (gschumacher@reviewjournal.com) is the Review-Journal's director of community publications. His column appears Friday.