Battle lines drawn in general election

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.

Tuesday's primary has set the stage for what promises to be one of the most fiercely competitive general elections ever in Nevada.

Republicans and Democrats already have spent several million dollars positioning candidates in key state races this November.

At the top of the ticket, Republican businessman Kenny Guinn will square off against Democratic Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones in the campaign for governor.

Guinn trounced his chief primary foe, Hollywood producer Aaron Russo, who had been battering him for months on television as being too close to the establishment. Jones, who also has mainstream political support, overcame ethics charges to defeat her biggest rival, state Sen. Joe Neal, by an even greater margin.

In the race for lieutenant governor, both parties also are fielding strong candidates. Republican Clark County Commissioner Lorraine Hunt, who has an edge in name recognition, and Democratic businesswoman Rose McKinney-James, billed as one of the more qualified candidates this year, both easily defeated their primary challengers.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa had little trouble emerging from the Democratic primary in her bid for a third term. She faces the well-financed Scott Scherer, a former Republican Assemblyman and deputy attorney general, who has won the endorsement of nearly every major law enforcement association.

At the federal level, Rep. John Ensign gathered more than 80 percent of the vote in the Republican primary for the right to square off against Sen. Harry Reid, the two-term Democratic incumbent who was unopposed in his primary. Reid and Ensign, anticipating a head-to-head battle in the general election, have been attacking each other on television for weeks. Both parties in Washington are closely watching the race.

The battle to succeed Ensign in the 1st Congressional District also is shaping up as a hot one. University Regent Shelley Berkley came away with a landslide victory in the Democratic primary, and Republican ex-District Judge Don Chairez defeated his nearest challenger, Esther Quisenberry, by a 2-1 margin in the Republican primary.

Berkley heads into the general election with a heavy campaign war chest and has the advantage of 40,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans in the district. But Chairez, who switched parties to run, can count on heavy campaign support from Republicans in Washington and two Strip gaming moguls, Mirage Resorts Chairman Steve Wynn, and Las Vegas Sands Inc. Chairman Sheldon Adelson.

UNLV Political Science Professor Steven Parker said the overall strong campaign lineup should bring out more voters to the polls in November in what is consider an off-election year because there is no presidential race.

"The close races will increase the turnout," he said.

It also should prompt the casino industry, the biggest contributor to political campaigns in Nevada, to hedge its bets in all five races.

Much of the attention will focus on the governor's race.

Democrats are expected to unite around Jones, who is being counted on to draw out the women's vote for Reid in his battle with Ensign.

Latest tracking polls by the Jones camp show the race with Guinn has turned into a virtual dead heat, as Guinn has been forced to fend off bitter attacks on his integrity from Russo, who spent more than $1 million of his own money bashing the Republican front-runner in television ads.

But Guinn proved he has a strong grassroots organization by defeating Russo by 32 points. Russo, however, may be a wild card in the race. He refused late Tuesday to throw his support to Guinn, saying he has "established a beachhead in Nevada" for his fiery brand of anti-establishment politics. Guinn's other chief primary opponent, Lt. Gov Lonnie Hammargren, has pledged to campaign for the Republican nominee.