Jon Ralston on the sense of deja vu felt in this year’s state gubernatorial race, which closely resembles the 1998 race that anointed Kenny Guinn

Sunday, June 25, 2006 | 7:52 a.m.

A race for an open governor's seat where momentum continues to build for the Republican candidate, who looks more and more like The Anointed One.

An initiative that causes consternation on both sides of the aisle and is disavowed by the GOP frontrunner even though many in the party support it.

A dynamic female candidate and a mayor give the Democrats hope they might be able to overcome the anointment process.

Sound familiar? Stick around Nevada politics long enough and that feeling of deja vu buffets you continuously, with the present an eerie copy of the past.

That set of circumstances occurred exactly eight years ago, in June 1998, the last time there was even a patina of competitiveness in a Nevada gubernatorial contest - a Kabuki prelude to Kenny Guinn's coronation. But those characteristics also fit today, when that same competitive facade exists, but the crowning of Rep. Jim Gibbons seems as inevitable as Guinn's was.

One of the enduring pleasures of covering campaigns here is to watch in wonderment how, as the state grows so quickly, the system adjusts so slowly, with the names and dynamics relatively immutable. And yet, there are subtle and ironic changes to the schematic, although they may not be enough to change the foregone conclusion that could be foreseen in June 1998 - and, perhaps, in June 2006. Consider the signs that history is repeating itself:

This year the bogeyman is called Tax and Spending Control, which is opposed by Gibbons and most of the Establishment, especially unions and business interests, which are again trying to erase a controversial measure from the ballot.

There are shades of difference between 1998 and 2006. There were not real primaries eight years ago, even though Aaron Russo made a lot of noise on the GOP side. And many Henderson business interests, including the family that owns this newspaper, have loaded up on Gibson to try to anoint him.

Jones, who similarly used her city perch to raise money, also could self-fund and did, keeping her in the race until the end. But Titus cannot keep pace with Gibson, who has been on television for three weeks unanswered by his opponent. Even if Titus pulls it out, she will have tremendous trouble - and Gibson would have some, too - enticing people to contribute when the Democratic nominee is trailing in donations on the order of $2 million to zero.

So is the mantle being passed, albeit unwillingly, from The Anointed One '98 to The Anointed One '06? Or is there a little confusion about who inherits the title?

If you still don't believe in the eerie parallels, consider this: Almost exactly eight years ago to the date, Kenny Guinn was the recipient of encomia from a bipartisan group of municipal leaders, including one person who called The Anointed One "a man of vision."

That description came from Jim Gibson.