Democrats are lacking ‘farm team’

Erin Neff

Friday, March 15, 2002 | 5:08 a.m.

Rarely have so many state issues leapt to the forefront in an election year.

Yucca Mountain, medical malpractice costs, a huge budget shortfall, severe education needs -- Nevada's governor's race is overstocked with debate potential.

Yet the Democrats can't muster an official candidate to run against incumbent Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn and his mounting $2.5 million war chest.

"I've heard of issueless campaigns, but not candidateless campaigns," said Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. "Whoever runs on the Democratic side is taking one for the party."

Some Democrats point the blame inward, saying their party lacks a "farm team" system to nurture young candidates for future stardom and is mired in the downturn of cyclical power shifts.

But Guinn is a formidable candidate to run against -- he's a moderate with crossover appeal, has made no major mistakes and has a campaign fund that scares potential opponents away.

"Kenny Guinn has been out early, he has raised a lot of money and he has done the job without controversy," said former three-term Democratic Gov. Bob Miller. "Someone who runs against him would have to run on differences, and Kenny's so moderate it makes that hard to do."

Guinn has won praise from liberals and conservatives alike in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy and subsequent economic downturn. Quick action to eliminate bureaucratic steps for laid-off workers gained him friends in unions to go with dozens of endorsements from law enforcement and conservative business groups.

Pete Ernaut, Guinn's former chief of staff and current campaign chairman, said there's no reason for voters to "turn him out of office."

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, has seen better days. Republicans control six of the seven constitutional offices and the state Senate and claim favorable redistricting and support from GOP office holders will help them pick up legislative and local seats.

"When you have the momentum in statewide office it tends to help down the ticket," said Clark County Republican Chairman Steve Wark.

It wasn't always that way. A swing of the political pendulum kept the Republicans down in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with Democrats controlling Nevada's two U.S. Senate seats and the statehouse. Guinn was the first Republican governor in 20 years when he was elected in 1998, and John Ensign, R-Nev., became Nevada's first Republican senator in 20 years when he was elected in 2000.

The recent swing should help Republicans in the long term, party leaders say, because Republican office holders in local elective office means the potential for statewide and federal offices in the future.

"It's those lower offices that are training grounds for future statewide candidates," Wark said.

Former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones, who ran two unsuccessful campaigns for governor, said her fellow Democrats need to "nurture candidates."

"I think we need to be far more strategic, building coalitions and building support from the traditional financial backers," Jones said.

Although she said she received decent support from the party -- and from unions -- she believes more can be done earlier to beat Republicans to financial support and ultimately the voters.

Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who is now president of the Democratic National Committee's Black Caucus, said her party has not worked effectively enough in Nevada to nurture future political stars.

"You can't just throw anybody out and expect them to run a good race," Atkinson Gates said. "There is a lot of talent out there but we don't work together to highlight them to the business community and showcase what they can do."

Kara Kelley, president and chief executive officer of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, said she isn't sure candidates need to work their way up the ranks anymore. Guinn, who had never held elected office, led a number of public agencies and private companies and was well-known in the community when he was tapped to run.

"Nevada is still a very, very small town," Kelley said. "The people who serve on boards, those are all the same people.

"Having that experience makes it easier to throw your hat in the ring," she added.

Jones and Kelley both said it's easier for Republicans to find candidates in the private sector ranks because the business community tends to align itself with Republican ideals.

But Kelley also says most of the people currently starring in the local business and community board scene don't want to give up their families, their time and their privacy to run for office.

"We try to recruit candidates from the business community," Kelley said. "The answer we usually get isn't just 'no thank you,' it's 'no way.' "

State Democratic Party Chairman Terry Care is still holding out hope someone will run as the party's official candidate, although he admits a candidate's chance for success diminishes with each passing day.

"It is getting late but I never say never," Care said.

Nothing would stop a wealthy Democrat from pouring his or her own money into a race late in the game. But party officials quietly admit Guinn's early start makes victory very unlikely.

Some suggest Democrats have no candidate this year because Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa -- whom the party supported -- waited too long to announce she wasn't running.

Del Papa said the time she took deciding her options had no impact on other potential candidates.

"It's a combination of the fact that these campaigns are very expensive and invasive in someone's private life," Del Papa said.

At the start of the year Democrats had no announced candidates for any of the state's constitutional offices. Potential Treasurer candidate Henry Rolling has since declined to run. Las Vegas attorney John Hunt recently announced his candidacy for attorney general and Assemblyman John Lee is expected to run for controller.

Lindsay Jydstrup, who heads the Democratic Caucus, said Democrats should concentrate on winning Assembly seats because the districts are smaller and the "races seem more doable."

"I think a statewide office does seem somewhat overwhelming for a new candidate," she added. "I think you build a farm team for the future with a real sharp Legislature right now."

Gates said she thinks her party's future stars are people like Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas.

But Gates also said those leaders have to be willing to step up when the time is right.

Republicans are already grooming their own for future offices. Brian Sandoval, who is running for Attorney General, is already something of a favorite to run for governor in 2006. Secretary of State Dean Heller and state Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, are also considered strong candidates for other offices in the future.

"It could be at least a decade before the Democrats rebound because they're already in a difficult situation and redistricting doesn't make it any easier for them," Wark said.

Titus, D-Las Vegas, said Democrats will pick up seats from the Republicans in the state Senate this year and will have quality candidates on the ticket.

"It's critical to have our voice and our viewpoint as an option on all of these big issues," Titus said.

But the big issue in Nevada and how it affects politics, some political experts say, is simple.

"The primary interest in this state is gaming," Herzik said. "There's not much difference between Bob Miller the Democrat and Kenny Guinn the Republican."