2012 Voter Guide: Nevada 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., should have little trouble sleeping the night before the Nov. 6 election since he is a virtual lock for victory over three little-known and poorly financed opponents.

Republicans have won every race for the seat since it was created in 1982 with Barbara Vucanovich, Jim Gibbons and Dean Heller serving as the representative until they retired or sought other offices.

Amodei, a longtime state senator from Carson City, won the seat in a special election on Sept. 13, 2011, by 22 percentage points over Democrat state Treasurer Kate Marshall.

But because of court-ordered redistricting last year, all of the 2nd Congressional District now lies in the more Republican northern half of Nevada. Registered Republicans held a 32,000-registered voters advantage over Democrats as of Oct. 1.

The seat is so Republican that it is probably impossible to find a political sign for Democrat Samuel Koepnick, independent Michael Haines or Independent American Russell Best in the Reno-Carson City area.

Amodei said he will spend about $150,000 on the race. Koepnick spent $17 in winning the Democratic primary and has decided to use social media, not signs and advertising, to plug his candidacy.

Amodei said he doesn't take his victory for granted and has returned to the district every weekend to meet with his constituents since he took the seat.

While the 2nd District now consists only of the 11 northern counties, Amodei said he is concerned with the entire state, including Clark County.

His goal remains, as it was during his campaign last year, for the federal government to release more of the 85 percent of the land it manages in the state. With more land under state control, Amodei believes Nevada could open areas to more mining and economic development.

"You need to have someone in Washington who understands the process and is capable of interacting with the federal agency managers and make them more responsive to the needs of our people and economy," he said.

He said he is concerned about the future of Medicare and Social Security and believes both parties need to get together and reach a consensus on what should be done.

"It is frustrating to see the polarization in the political parties," he said.

Koepnick readily admits he cannot beat Amodei, but finds him a good-natured man who shares many of his own political ideas.

Nonetheless, he believes he will pick up more nonpartisan votes than people expect and make it a close race.

He said he is concerned by moves in Congress to curtail civil liberties. In particular, he decries laws that allow the arrest and jailing of terrorism suspects without giving them a chance to go before a judge.

Noting that North Korea and China attempt to deny people access to political websites, Koepnick also fears that Congress will try again to censor what people can view on the Internet. Congress last summer defeated a bill to block access to some websites and he believes new attempts will be made.

As an example, he pointed to the attempts to punish WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for releasing classified documents. The United States cannot criticize other countries for censoring the Internet when it wants to do the same thing, he said.

"Mark Amodei is not a bad person, but he does not have the background in technology that I have," Koepnick added.

Independent Haines, who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2010, expressed outrage because television broadcasters in Las Vegas and Reno blocked him from participating in debates with the two majority party candidates.

"Both parties are responsible for this economic mess," said Haines, adding he has dropped out of the race and now lives in Los Angeles. "But the media suffocates everyone that they don't want in debates.

"I am a good man. I work hard and bust my butt, but I am not given a chance."

Haines drew only a half-percent of the votes in 2010 and should not be much of a factor in the Nov. 6 election.

Independent American Best is another candidate familiar to voters in Northern Nevada. He drew 4 percent of the votes when running for the 2nd Congressional District in 2010.

During that election, Best said he received 50 death threats because he opposed the Muslim Brotherhood and Sharia law.

"They are trying to implement it in different parts of the country," said Best, who could not give specific examples. "Judges back East somewhere are allowing it."

He said he is against the installation of "smart meters" by NV Energy and wants to have more federally managed land placed under state control.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.