For some candidates, coming together not a party

Tony Cook, Las Vegas Sun

Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2006 | 7:37 a.m.

One of the first challenges for any political primary victor is to quickly put the acrimony of the primary behind him, drawing past opponents into the fold while mending weaknesses exposed in the intra-party battle.

For Clark County sheriff candidate Jerry Airola, that needed new support was found lurking by the bar at his victory party. For Democratic governor candidate Dina Titus, however, it was still outside the proverbial door in the hallway.

As Titus reached out to the supporters of her major primary opponent, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson, in her victory speech Tuesday night, it immediately became clear that her task would not be an easy one.

"I don't think so," one Gibson supporter shouted in response to Titus' let's-all-come-together appeal.

"No way," yelled another.

The scene revealed one of the biggest hurdles Titus will face this fall - unifying the party behind her.

"I think the party has been taken over by the left a bit," said Gibson supporter Mark Engel. "I liked it better before, when it was God, guns and labor."

He said he is not sure whom he will support in November's general election - Republican Jim Gibbons or Titus.

Titus is "just a little bit too liberal for me," he said.

At Airola's victory party, meanwhile, the primary's second-place finisher behind Undersheriff Doug Gillespie seemed to take some early steps toward demonstrating that he can unite at least some Metro police behind his outsider candidacy.

With Metro administrators having slammed Airola throughout the primary, a major part of his job this fall will be to convince Metro's rank-and-file that he has what it takes to run the department.

Current Clark County Sheriff Bill Young has thrown his support behind Gillespie and criticized Airola for being a businessman without real law enforcement experience.

Hiding by the bar at Airola's campaign party, though, four men holding beers stood in a semi-circle to exchange cautious speeches of utter Airola support. All four were Metro cops.

"We're more afraid of getting sniped in the back by our current administration than we are of taking a bullet from criminals in the street," said one officer, on the condition that his name not be used.

Each man explained that he wanted to see a change in Metro administration - but not so much as to openly support Airola and risk retaliation.

So when TV camera crews panned the party - held at Silver State Helicopters, Airola's business office in Las Vegas - the police officers ducked behind a spiral staircase and winced.

While Tuesday's victors could look forward to the challenges ahead, for losing candidates, election night marked an unpleasant ending to a months-long effort.

At Gibson's headquarters, sandwiched between a Starbucks and a nail spa in a suburban strip mall, distress set in early.

Fifteen minutes after the polls closed, faces of the unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate's supporters began showing signs of dismay.

One supporter flailed his arms as he said, "I'm just going to think positive. Positive vibes. Positive vibes going out over the valley."

But the mantra didn't work.

Just after 7:30, as early voting results showed Titus clearly leading, Gibson himself was overheard saying: "Well, this is kind of a wipeout. It's hard to know what to do."

Gibson supporters spoke in upbeat terms for a couple more hours, saying things like, "I think we're just waiting for the numbers to come in."

But they came in for Titus, stirring Gibson's supporters into something close to a fit of rage after the hard-fought race in which Titus' hardcore Democratic base bettered Gibson's more moderate backers.

As Titus made her victory speech, one Gibson supporter whispered, "She's so annoying."

And when Titus mentioned "integrity," another Gibson backer asked: "Integrity? Did she actually use the 'I' word?"

That shows how difficult it could be for the state senator to bring the 'U' word - unity - into play in her campaign this fall.