Jon Ralston wonders what surprises await Nevada as politicians and would-be politicians begin filing for elected office on Monday morning

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | 7:21 a.m.

Just a few days away from the two-week filing period and few questions remain as the field soon will be set.

When filing opens Monday - it lasts until May 12 - candidates will begin searching for easy press hits as they drag entourages down to election departments to sign up for offices because they have wanted them for a long time, or since someone told them it would be a good idea to run, or because they aren't qualified to hold a real, private sector job.

The biggest mystery already has been solved as Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman has bowed out of the U.S. Senate and gubernatorial races, leaving us only to speculate whether his hackneyed, hoary shtick would have played in Reno or Lovelock.

(I still think Sen. John Ensign, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson and Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus exhaled when Goodman, as many foretold, proved to be more of a tease than someone who would consummate his flirtation. Which raises a point: Should all sexual/political metaphors be banned after the serial salaciousness of the G-Sting trial?)

But before filing closes a fortnight plus two hence, two nonmayoral-related questions remain (not including whether he might engage in a bacchanal and accidentally file for something):

I'm not talking about the comedy of one Merle Berman, the ex-assemblywoman who already has announced for three offices, each one lower in the government food chain. Her next step would be to run for the Moapa cable district seat.

Berman's pathetic peregrinations aside, I refer to the likes of impeached Controller Kathy Augustine, who has declared she will run for state treasurer. Will she really take on GOP anointee Mark DeStefano, who has baggage, but it is balanced by his huge war chest?

And what about congressional hopeful Dawn Gibbons? One of this year's dirty little secrets of Nevada politics is that supporters of her husband, the gubernatorial front-runner Jim Gibbons, would love for her to be campaigning for him and not herself because the attacks coming her way could splatter him.

Might she decide not to file despite being the supposed front-runner in the GOP primary? I doubt she will relent but that would be something else, leaving a stark choice for Republicans between hard-line conservative Sharron Angle, the northern assemblywoman, and maverick Dean Heller, the secretary of state - with Democrat Jill Derby hoping to surmount the wrong party registration (Democrat) for that district and the wrong elected job (regent) for Nevada.

My guess is we will have some surprise no-shows by the time May 12 rolls around, although it's unlikely they will rise to the level of the marquee race, despite more muted calls for Gibson and Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt to exit primaries many think they cannot win.

The answer to this question surely is yes. But the real issue here is whether the shock value will create a temblor that has a few aftershocks and then dissipates.

So what if ex-Judge Don Chairez files for attorney general against Democrat Catherine Cortez-Masto? His ex-Honor can make all the claims of financial support he wants, but thanks to incumbent George Chanos' decision to leave the stage, all the money and endorsements are flowing Cortez-Masto's way. At this point, barring something unforeseen, the Republicans, some of whom surely want to murder Chanos, have ceded to the Democrats one of the state's most important offices and a critical political springboard.

The most interesting questions surround legislative races and who decides to step into those beginning Monday.

Can the Democrats get someone credible to file against embattled state Sen. Sandra Tiffany, who already has a primary opponent? If so, the upper house may be in play for the first time in many cycles.

Control of the Legislature is ignored by most normal human beings and only analyzed by those of us sick enough to follow every bit of minutiae. But depending on who wins the governor's race, the makeup of the Gang of 63 could be critical to the state's future.

So let's get filing over with so we can look forward to the dreaded early voting, which begins July 29. Just around the corner, folks.