Poll: Malone, Maxfield in close commission race

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

A political poll conducted by a local hotel-casino says one Clark County Commission race figures to be neck-and-neck while another appears to be a blowout.

The poll by Harrah's Entertainment Inc. also predicts a race for a hotly contested state Senate seat will come down to the wire.

With a week to go before the primary election, County Commissioner Lance Malone is in danger of not getting a second term, according to Harrah's, whose poll is conducted by McGuire Research of Denver.

Of the 400 registered voters polled, 40 percent favored Malone, while 42 percent preferred political upstart Chip Maxfield. Eighteen percent of the respondents were undecided.

The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points, meaning the Malone-Maxfield race is a dead heat among the respondents.

County Commissioner Mary Kincaid, a former longtime North Las Vegas city councilwoman, appears to have a comfortable lead in her bid for a second four-year term on the commission.

Of the poll's respondents, 90 percent of whom said they were very likely to vote, 53.8 percent favored Kincaid over her challenger, current North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith. Smith was chosen by 33.5 percent, and 12.8 percent were undecided. Should Smith lose, she can keep her council seat, which is up for election in May.

In state Senate District 4, Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, who has held that post since 1972, faces Uri Clinton in what appears to be a close battle. Neal was the choice of 38.5 percent of the poll respondents, while Clinton was favored by 31.5 percent. A whopping 26.5 percent were undecided, the poll says.

Another 3.5 percent of the poll respondents said they would vote for former North Las Vegas Planning Commissioner Chris Montanez, who has dropped out of the race but is still on the ballot.

There is no Republican candidate. That means that if Neal and Clinton each get less than 50 percent of the vote, both Democrats go to the general runoff. If the winner gets 50 percent plus one vote, he wins the office outright.