Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

GOP giving sneak preview of convention

Sun Expanded Coverage

(The Sun has gone on the road to listen to voters and talk to political leaders around the West. Reporters have been examining the economic, cultural and demographic forces re-shaping the region as they drove to Denver for the first of the two major party conventions the Sun will cover. This week they are at the Democratic National Convention.)

DENVER -- Republicans are doing their best to steer attention away from Denver, and one way to do that is to give sneak-previews of their convention next week in St. Paul.

Today's headline: Nevada Republican Sen. John Ensign will speak on opening night.

Ensign joins the heaviest hitters on Monday -- including President Bush, Vice President Cheney and First Lady Laura Bush.

Ensign counts among those Republicans still willing to share a stage with the unpopular president. Nevada's other Republican members of Congress, Reps. Jon Porter and Dean Heller, are steering clear of St. Paul next week, staying home in Nevada to campaign for re-election. Ensign isn't up again until 2012.

We've written about Nevada's congressional candidates distancing themselves from their party conventions. Challenger Dina Titus similarly staying home to campaign. Heller's challenger, Jill Derby, breezed into town yesterday.

Derby was spotted last night leaving the state after-party at the delegation hotel and was scheduled to have a whirlwind of meetings today. But she's only planning to stay a bit, before heading home later this week.

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