Gallagher makes his congressional campaign official

Kirsten Searer

Thursday, March 18, 2004 | 11:16 a.m.

Former gaming executive Tom Gallagher announced this morning that he will challenge Republican Rep. Jon Porter.

Gallagher, who is making his debut in Nevada politics, said he has received strong support from Democrats state and nationwide, and he expects this race to be one of "a handful" that will be in the spotlight this election year.

"This seat is one of a handful, maybe at most 15 in the country, where there's going to be a major contest," said Gallagher, 59. "It will be an interesting, exciting and challenging race."

Gallagher, the former chief executive of Park Place Entertainment and chairman of the Nevada Resort Association, said he chose to run because he sees major local, state and national issues coming up in the next congressional session.

In his speech at Harriet Treem Elementary School in Henderson this morning, Gallagher said he would work to help Americans who have no health insurance and create a system that rewards companies for expanding their coverage. He said he would try to fix and fund the No Child Left Behind Act so that schools are not penalized for a law that creates mandates and does not fund them.

He said the job of a congressman is to be an independent voice for his district.

"That's been the story of my life," he said. "I've never been afraid to take on a tough challenge and tough issues."

Gallagher, a Harvard Law School graduate, worked for Sen. John Tunney, a Democrat who represented California from 1970 to 1982. Since then Gallagher has worked in private and public practice, including a stint working for Merv Griffin.

Porter, though a freshman in Congress, already has made himself a formidable opponent by raising $1 million for his campaign, including $500,000 he has in the bank.

Mike Slanker, who is consulting for Porter, said he's not surprised by Gallagher's impending announcement. Gallagher made a speech to the Clark County Democratic Convention on Saturday that attacked Porter and indicated he planned to make a run.

Gallagher will face a competitor in the primary, Democrat Rick DeVoe, a construction worker who also is new to politics but has been campaigning hard.

Slanker criticized Gallagher for living outside of the district and said that Porter better understands his constituents.

"It's interesting that the Democrats couldn't find someone who actually lives in Congressional District 3 to run," Slanker said.

Gallagher said "at the moment we are living less than 100 yards off Lake Mead Boulevard," from the boundaries of the 3rd Congressional District, but he said he and his family will move into a house in Henderson in three weeks.

He said he bought a house in Lake Tahoe seven years ago and moved to Southern Nevada four years ago.

"I'm like a lot of people in Southern Nevada," he said. "I chose Nevada as my home."

The district is almost evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. As of Feb. 29, 124,945 Republicans were registered in the district compared with 123,048 Democrats.