No stress in congressional races

Molly Ball

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 11:24 a.m.

Two Democratic congressional incumbents who faced tough races in the past had the luxury of virtually safe seats this year, and both coasted to victory Tuesday.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., defeated four opponents with a dominating 61 percent of the vote to win a fourth term. Coming in second was Republican Richard Ziser, with 35 percent.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., dispatched two opponents, taking 66 percent of the vote and a fourth term in the House. Republican Russ Mickelson trailed with 31 percent, and Libertarian Jim Duensing brought up the rear with 3 percent.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., also enjoyed a rout, defeating three opponents with 67 percent of the vote to win a fifth term. Democratic challenger Angie Cochran took 27 percent.

Six years ago Reid went down to the wire against Republican John Ensign, winning by only 428 votes. Ensign went on to win Nevada's other seat in the Senate in 2000.

This time around, observers said Ziser, an investment manager who hoped to attract voters with an anti-tax message, didn't make himself visible enough to make inroads against the well-known and well-funded Reid.

Reid said Tuesday night that he was "elated" not to have such a tough fight this time around.

Reid's overwhelming lead in the race became clear in polls months before the election and by the end of September was up to 26 points, according to a Las Vegas Sun survey.

That comfortable advantage enabled the 64-year-old senator to donate $1 million of his war chest -- which, at more than $8 million, was the largest in Nevada senatorial history -- to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for use in promoting other Democrats' campaigns across the country.

Reid, the Senate Democratic whip, is a member of the Appropriations Committee. A native of Searchlight, he is known for bringing federal money home for projects such as the Las Vegas Monorail and counterterrorism training at the Nevada Test Site.

Berkley was also relieved to have a low-stress campaign this year.

"It meant a lot to me to know my constituents thought I was doing a good job," Berkley said at the Democratic election night party at the Rio.

In 2002 Berkley faced Lynette Boggs McDonald, who won her own election for County Commission on Tuesday. Considering the Las Vegas congressional district's majority Democratic make-up, Boggs McDonald was said to have done well to come within 11 percentage points of Berkley two years ago.

Berkley, 53, serves on the Transportation, Veterans Affairs and International Relations committees. She has said her priorities are homeland security, health care, jobs and education.

Gibbons' strong showing was nothing new for him. His district encompasses the state's rural areas -- in fact, the entire state except for parts of Las Vegas. These strongly Republican precincts handed Gibbons 74 percent of the vote against three opponents in 2002.

But Gibbons said Tuesday night that he didn't treat this race differently than any other.

"I wouldn't say that any race is easy," he said at the Republican election night party at Mandalay Bay. "They all require you to work."

Gibbons, 59, sits on the House Armed Services, Intelligence and Homeland Security committees. He is also vice chairman of the House Resources Committee. A decorated Air Force veteran, Gibbons, a former geologist, strongly opposes the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.