OK, he was fourth on the list, but he’s taking on Porter

By David McGrath Schwartz

Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.

Invitations went out to the big dance off, and it had to be tempting. Challenge a Republican congressman who has been unwavering in his support of an unpopular war. Get millions of dollars in assistance from national Democrats. And do all of this when voters are leaning toward Democrats.

The cool kids, though, decided not to show. So a political neophyte will be the candidate.

Robert Daskas, a chief deputy district attorney, filed papers last week announcing his intention to run against Rep. Jon Porter, a three-term incumbent. (The other announced Democratic candidate is Andrew Martin, who will have a tough time beating Daskas, the party's preferred candidate, for the nomination .)

Daskas has the support of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada . But that doesn't mean he was the first choice. At least four other s, three of them veteran elected officials, passed up a chance to run.

"There's no question Daskas is a fourth-choice candidate for national Democrats," said David Wasserman, House editor for the Cook Political Report. "That said, Republicans can't take him lightly."

Some Democrats say Daskas ' lack of political experience could help when many voters are sour on Washington. Nationally last year a number of neophytes rode voter discontent all the way to Congress.

"If he doesn't have experience, he doesn't have a record to be attacked," said Democratic state Sen. Dina Titus, one of those who considered a run and was approached by the national party leaders.

Yet that wasn't the preferred strategy. Early consideration went to Titus, Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid (son of Harry Reid) and Richard Perkins, a former Assembly speaker and the current Henderson police chief.

The national Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee polled how each would do against Porter. Democrats said the polls came back showing each one winning a head-to-head matchup . All declined to run, however.

Then Berkley's husband, Dr. Larry Lehrner , considered entering the race. Only after he decided against it did the Democrats bless Daskas, said a source close to the process.

Porter has been a target of local Democrats since 2002, when the seat was created and Porter won it.

In other states, political parties spend years nurturing potential candidates for higher office. But Nevada Democrats have not always focused on grooming candidates by helping up-and-comers get elected to school boards and city councils to gain experience.

The party says that is changing, even if it doesn't show in this congressional race.

In the past, "we didn't have a deep bench of candidates," said Kirsten Searer, deputy executive director of the state party. But the party is now "more organized than they have been in many years." As evidence, she mentioned local nonpartisan races in which the party has been involved.

Titus acknowledged she was surprised no one with political experience entered the race. "I think we each have our own individual reasons," she said. She also said the Democrats now have many qualified office holders in important jobs, including Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley and Assemblyman John Oceguera.

Rory Reid acknowledged that he considered a run this year and had conversations with national party leaders. But he said he decided against it once he took a top role in Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in Nevada .

Perkins didn't return calls for comment.

Titus and Reid say Daskas will be a strong candidate even without political experience. "There's no question Robert Daskas has the skills to communicate effectively with the voters," Reid said. "He has a long history in Nevada, deep roots here, the ability to raise money and communicate the message."

Porter's spokesman said the national Democratic Party's focus on this district isn't new.

"As previous election cycles have shown, the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) has come out and challenged Porter," spokesman Matthew Leffingwell said. "The congressman has been actively raising money. He's proven time and time again he's an effective, aggressive campaigner, and proven victorious."

Daskas, 40, does have advantages over the candidate Porter defeated last year. He is the lead homicide prosecutor for the Clark County district attorney, and has won 26 of his 27 trials. He is getting a much earlier start than prior Porter challengers.

The 2006 aspirant, Tessa Hafen, didn't start her campaign until February. The 2004 challenger, Tom Gallagher, also didn't enter the race until after the new year.

Hafen was also just 29 when she declared for office.

So what does Daskas say about this?

He is not commenting until after he finishes a high-profile murder case. His campaign manager, Heather Urban , said she will not comment for the record.

Instead, in a written statement, the campaign said Daskas filed his papers to run "based on the overwhelming encouragement and financial support I received." Better late than never.