Nevada makes Ensign first GOP senator in 12 years; Bernstein concedes

Scott Sonner

Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2000 | 10:16 a.m.

RENO - Former Republican Rep. John Ensign bounced back from a razor-thin loss two years ago to become the first Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Nevada in 12 years.

Ensign, 42, a veterinarian and son of a casino mogul, claimed victory over Democrat Ed Bernstein of Las Vegas with a comfortable 55 percent to 40 percent lead Tuesday night in the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Richard Bryan.

Ensign won the first of two House races in the 1994 Republican wave that made Newt Gingrich speaker. He came within one-tenth of 1 percent of defeating Democratic Sen. Harry Reid two years ago in a recount that stretched into December.

"It's really been four years we've been running," Ensign said as he watched early returns with GOP faithful at the Peppermill Hotel-Casino in Reno.

"That loss was one of the better things that ever happened to me," he said.

"Your greatest victories in life come from your greatest defeats. You can learn so much about yourself. I think I needed a good dose of humility back then. It was good for me. I needed to learn a lot about myself. Nothing can teach you that more than a good defeat."

Later, in Las Vegas, he told supporters the victory had come on his 13th wedding anniversary. He said his family and religious faith had been critical to success on the long campaign trail.

"We've been through some ups and we've been through some downs, but you know what? It was all worth it," he said to loud cheers.

Ensign, who lost to Reid by 428 votes in 1998, said he sensed more support for his campaign this time around.

"Everywhere I've been around the state, the crowds have been huge. Our volunteer base dwarfed our volunteer base of last time. It's truly been overwhelming," he said.

"So many people have come up to me and said, 'I could have got you 428 votes last time.' There must have been 200 people who told me that personally. People didn't want that to happen again.

"But we didn't take anything for granted. Right up until the polls closed we had people working the precincts," he said.

Bernstein, a Las Vegas lawyer, conceded defeat in a speech to Democratic faithful at the Riviera hotel-casino in Las Vegas about 8:45 p.m. Tuesday. He spent about $1 million of his money but said he had trouble overcoming Ensign's 3-to-1 fund-raising advantage.

"This experience just hasn't changed me, it's changed my whole family more than you could have imagined," Bernstein said.

"One of my greatest disappointments is I won't have the opportunity to serve with Harry Reid in the United States Senate," he said.

Bernstein acknowledged before the polls closed that Ensign enjoyed an advantage because "I started this race really far back and he had been in the race before.

"He outspent me 4- or 5-to-1 counting all the outside organizations - the American Medical Association, the National Rifle Association, the chambers of commerce," Bernstein said.

"He raised more money from the insurance industry, polluters and pharmaceutical companies than I raised for my entire campaign," he said.