Monday, Aug. 25, 2003 | 11:20 a.m.
Citing unresolved issues that need his attention in the House of Representatives, Congressman Jim Gibbons this morning announced he will not run for the U.S. Senate next year.
Surrounded by supporters at the Cox Pavilion, Gibbons, R-Nev., said he would put his efforts into retaining his house seat rather than running against Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.
"There is no doubt in my mind that I could defeat the existing senator on Election Day," Gibbons said with his wife, Dawn, standing next to him. "Nevadans want a senator that will not be an obstructionist to President Bush and his judicial nominees. They want a senator who represents their values, not Washington, D.C., partisan gridlock."
Gibbons said he is more committed to running for re-election and pushing his statewide Education First initiative that would make sure schools are funded early in the state budget process.
"This is not about raising money or personal ambition as some political pundits have suggested," he said. "I would love to be a member of the United States Senate, and one day I may be."
He did not discuss any future runs for other political office, despite recently talking about the advantages of serving on the state Supreme Court. Gibbons, 58, is an attorney who could run for a court seat, and as a former fighter pilot who served in Vietnam and in the first gulf war is considered a popular choice to run for governor in 2006.
In a prepared statement issued this moring, Reid reiterated that Gibbons "is a strong and important member of Nevada's Congressional delegation."
Reid called Gibbons seniority in the House "an assset to our state, making the true beneficiary of his decision today the people of Nevada."
He added that he and his wife, Landra, count Gibbons and his wife, a member of the state Assembly, as friends.
"I look forward to continuing our work together on education and other issues important to our state," Reid said.
For months speculation grew about a run for Gibbons, a fourth-term congressman who serves on the House Intelligence Committee and is seen as a close ally of the Bush administration.
Republicans nationwide hoped he would challenge Reid, the Senate's second ranking Democrat as assistant minority leader. Reid has been a thorn in the side of the White House with his routine commentary on what he considers the administration's failures in foreign policy and national economic decisions.
Gibbons said this morning that the White House was "minimally involved" in the decision, and that he had not talked to Bush directly about the race. He did say he worked closely with the National Republican Senatorial Committee to discuss fund-raising and other strategies for the potential race.
Dan Allen, communications director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said the group respects the decision.
"We still think Harry Reid is vulnerable," Allen said.
Allen said there is a "disconnect" between Reid's Democratic leadership role and that in representing Nevada.
"He's saying one thing in Nevada and doing the opposite in Washington," Allen said, using medical malpractice issues as an example.
The committee is still evaluating the big picture for next year's election and a specific name for an opponent has not come up yet, committee sources said.
Gibbons said this morning his relatively late decision not to run should not impact the chances of any other Republican to take on Reid.
"I talked before with some who were interested and I told them their decision should not weigh on my decision," Gibbons said. "I told them they should not look at who's in the race with them and should not worry about a primary."
Citing Chic Hecht's defeat of U.S. Sen. Howard Cannon in 1982, Gibbons also said he thought a Republican who is not a "top-tier" candidate can beat Reid.
Republican consultants said the short list of potential challengers include Controller Kathy Augustine; Secretary of State Dean Heller; Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt; state Sen. Randolph Townsend, R-Reno; and Attorney General Brian Sandoval.
But Townsend said this morning that he would not run for the Senate.
"I have responsibilities with what I do and I am going to fill them," Townsend said.
Sandoval has previously said he would finish his term as attorney general before running for any other position.
Hunt and Heller both said this morning that they would consider running.
A spokesman for Gov. Kenny Guinn said the governor "respects the decision of Congressman Gibbons." Greg Bortolin, press secretary for Guinn, said the governor will now wait to see who emerges as the GOP candidate.
Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., talked to Gibbons last night about his decision, which he called "disappointing."
"We talked about the pros and cons and how difficult of a race it would be," said Ensign, who has worked closely with Reid for the past three years.
Ensign said any Republican he would support against Reid "has to be the right person."
Gibbons talked at length this morning about his commitment to his work on homeland security and terrorism issues. He said there was so much more work to do that he felt more needed in the House. He had been picked by the White House to work on the new Homeland Security Department.
Gibbons said now was "not the time to be a freshman senator in Nevada."
He also said he is needed more in the House to continue efforts to develop the Homeland Security Department than he would be in the Senate. Gibbons said he was "in line to become chair" of the House Intelligence Committee.
Last month Gibbons railed against the Nevada Supreme Court after a July 10 decision to set aside the two-thirds majority vote required to raise taxes in the recent legislative session.
Gibbons had launched his political career, and a failed 1994 bid for governor, based on the Gibbons Tax Restraint Initiative that instituted the two-thirds majority.
Dawn Gibbons said this morning she was forming a consulting company, Politic, to head up her husband's congressional race and spearhead the Education First initiative, a citizen initiative requiring the funding of the education budget before the state budget.
Although she said she is not seeking re-election to her Assembly seat, she said she would seek a state senate seat if Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, retires.
Gibbons' decision not to take on Reid lifts the most formidable challenge the senators could face next year.
Reid has $3.1 million cash on hand for his re-election campaign and has been drumming up support from both sides of the aisle.
Gibbons was seen as the only candidate statewide with the name recognition and credentials to be able to raise sizeable campaign funds and challenge Reid. Reid won his last race, against John Ensign, by only 428 votes.
In Washington, the announcement does not guarantee Reid's success at re-election but does invoke some confidence for Democrats.
"We're not taking anything for granted," said Brad Woodhouse, spokesman at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. "Sen. Reid is a vital part of the Democratic caucus and we will continue to watch that race very closely."
He said all efforts had been on recruiting Gibbons and there "doesn't appear to be a top tier candidate of any kind."
Tripp Baird, director of senate relations at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington said the "field is wide open" for other opponents.
"Reid has never won by a lot in Nevada," Baird said. "If Nevada can put up a decent candidate, Harry Reid is going to have a hard time."
Gibbons' decision could also impact Democrats who are considering a bid for Congressional District 3 against U.S. Rep. Jon Porter, a Republican.
Two Democratic assemblymen, David Goldwater and John Oceguera, are considering running against Porter. Both have said their chances of taking out the one-term congressman would improve if Reid had a race and could energize the Democratic machine.
"If Reid had a challenge from Gibbons, more money would have come in to energize his campaign and that would have helped others," Oceguera said this morning. "This obviously will play a part in my decision making."
Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, has previously said he does not think the voter registration in the district -- which slightly favors Republicans -- gives a Democrat like him much of a chance without sizeable money donations and an energized Democratic machine.
Sun reporter Cy Ryan contributed to this story.
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