Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2003 | 11:28 a.m.
When Jim Gibbons announced Monday that a U.S. Senate race next year was not in his future, several other Republicans figured he must have had a good reason.
And that reason, many believe, is money.
"If Jim Gibbons decided it didn't make sense, you have to consider that these major races end up being an auction and it might not make sense to try to be the highest bidder," said Secretary of State Dean Heller, a Republican now being touted as a potential challenger to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid next year.
Heller said he is not ruling out a run, but admits the road to Washington, D.C., will probably not be paved with cash for any Republican hopeful.
State Controller Kathy Augustine said she was surprised that Gibbons decided not to run -- so surprised in fact, that it made her just about rule out any run for the Senate.
"I most likely will not be running for the U.S. Senate next year," Augustine said.
Augustine said she preferred to wait until 2006 to run for a higher office. In 2006, Sen. John Ensign's seat will be up for re-election, and some believe the freshman senator may not seek another term.
If Gibbons runs for the Senate in 2006, his congressional seat would open to the likes of Augustine.
Only one Republican, Richard Ziser, has definitely decided to run against Reid.
Ziser, chairman of the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage that launched the successful ballot initiative defining marriage as between a man and woman, will announce his candidacy Wednesday morning.
"The timing is right, the issues are right and I really firmly believe that in order for a Republican to beat Harry Reid, we need to have a strong fiscal conservative as well as a conservative in the moral and social issues," Ziser said.
Ziser admits raising money is going to be difficult, and he said he would likely have to put some of his own cash into the race as seed money.
Gibbons said Monday that campaign money was the subject of most strategy sessions he had with the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. But he also said money was not the main reason he decided not to run against Reid.
"I have met with a lot of people who said 'Jim, if you decide to run, we will be there for you,' " Gibbons said. "We were not worried about the money coming."
Reid has amassed $3.1 million in cash for his race already.
Gibbons, who has about $500,000 in the bank for his re-election, said he believed he could have raised enough to meet his goals for a Senate race.
But now that he has opted out of the race, other candidates are questioning their ability to raise money.
Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt said she would be considering a bid for Senate, although she believes it may make better financial sense for her to run for governor in 2006.
"It takes so much money," Hunt said.
Hunt raised about $600,000 for her re-election last year. Augustine raised a little more than $200,000 and Heller raised $38,000 in re-election campaigns last year.
State Treasurer Brian Krolicki issued a statement Monday saying he would spend the next few weeks determining if a Senate run makes sense.
As the second ranking Democrat in the Senate, Reid has the ability to access national sources of campaign contributions.
Gibbons said Monday there were some Republican politicians and some Republican business people with potential interest in the seat.
In addition to Augustine, two other Republican politicians suggested by some GOP consultants as potential challenges to Reid also said they would not seek the seat.
Attorney General Brian Sandoval and Sen. Randolph Townsend said they would not run.
"He was very flattered that his name would even be floated, but he said he's got a contract with the citizens of Nevada and he's got a lot of work to do in his office," Sandoval spokesman Tom Sargeant said.
Townsend also said he wanted to concentrate on his legislative work, which includes chairing the Legislative Commission during the interim.
If the Republican nominee turns out to be a business person, it is likely that person will put his or her own money in to the race, consultants said.
In 2000, Democrat and attorney Ed Bernstein raised $2.3 million, including some of his own money in his race against John Ensign for an open Senate seat. Democrat Frankie Sue Del Papa dropped out of the race in 1999 after raising just $320,000, She said she was unable to raise enough campaign money to be a viable candidate.
Realtor Jack Woodcock is considering running against Reid and has said he would be willing to put his own money into the race.
archive
