Posted on 08/16/2006 4:19:20 AM PDT by Clintonfatigued
Secretary of State Dean Heller barely defeated state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle in a hotly contested GOP primary battle for Nevada's sprawling 2nd Congressional District seat that stretched into the early morning hours Wednesday.
With all but a handful of votes tallied, Heller had 24,771 votes, or 36 percent. Angle had 24,334 votes, or 35 percent - 427 less. Former Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons, wife of incumbent GOP Rep. Jim Gibbons, had 17,320 votes, or 25 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at lasvegassun.com ...
Well, it doesn't look like Sharron Angle is going to make it. Too bad, she would have made a great Congresswoman. It's obvious that she couldn't overcome Heller's superior name recognition. Maybe another time, as Heller has been rumored to have statewide ambitions.
427 votes....
Recount or hope absentee's come in?
isn't she club for growth?
No need for recount. This is a Republican primary in a conservative district, so there is no cheating machine in operation on either side.
(Yes, she was supported by club for growth.)
That's a disappointment (though at least Dawn Gibbons was denied the seat). It would be nice to have had another Conservative woman in the tradition of Barbara Vucanovich in this seat. Unfortunately, Jim Gibbons won the Gubernatorial nomination. We did get a Conservative Hispanic GOPer for the Attorney-General slot, former Judge Don Chairez, who narrowly lost the Congressional race in NV-1 when John Ensign vacated it in '98 to run against Dirty Harry.
God, where's my brain these days?
I never miss a primary election night - and this one slipped right by.
Thanks for posting the results.
Just curious.
Why are you glad that Dawn Gibbons didn't win?
For a few reasons. Namely, my disgust at her husband and his steadfast refusal to take out Dirty Harry (and I was equally disappointed to see that Bob Beers didn't take him out last night). The fact that he was trying to "pass off" his seat to the wife (rarely do I approve of pols trying to "keep it in the family"). And lastly, the fact that if her husband was elected Governor, it would be a bit unseemly that she'd be pulling "double duty" as First Lady and Congresswoman at the same time (why would hubby want to ship her clear across the country to DC just as he was returning home to Nevada -- rather strange, don't you think ?).
Usually, Governors running or appointing their wives to office isn't well-received. More recently, then-OK Gov. Frank Keating tried to run his wife for Steve Largent's open seat in a special, and she was strongly rebuked. One individual who served simultaneously as First Lady (not counting Hillary) and Congresswoman was Olympia Snowe, but in Snowe's case, it was an unusual one. As a widower, she arrived in Congress ahead of her future husband, Jock McKernan, and they both served in Maine's adjacent seats. He left Congress to serve as Governor for 8 years, retiring just as she ran for the Senate. In Snowe's case, she had already earned the right to run and serve without any cynical aspersions being attributed.
In any event, I wasn't terribly pleased that Dean Heller got it, as he was aligned with the tax-happy RINO Kenny Guinn. Assemblywoman Sharron Angle was the only bonafide Conservative in the race.
Don't forget AR Gov. Mike Huckabee had his wife run for Secretary of State. Huckabee's wife was seen as a joke candidacy.
Jim Gibbons won not because of ideology, but regional loyalty. Northern Nevada residents, including strong conservatives, voted overwhelmingly for him. They believe that Las Vegas runs roughshod over them and wanted one of their own in the Governor's mansion. So it's not like Nevada has embraced RINO-ism.
Yup, and unfortunately, Huckabee's last term has been pretty much a joke, too.
Unfortunately, the last 2 GOP Governors were no gems. I don't think NV has had a bonafide Conservative Governor since Paul Laxalt's single term (1967-71). Of course, I think the old joke went that Laxalt passed up the opportunity to run for a second term because he was tired of Howard Hughes calling him up at Carson City at 3am all the time in between his non-stop viewings of "Ice Station Zebra." As soon as Mike O'Callaghan became Governor, Howard left Nevada.
Oops, I missed something -- where did Sandoval go?
Sandoval was made a U.S. District Court Judge last year.
http://air.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=3091
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