Two GOP pillars in state Senate felled

Sam Morris

Democrat Allison Copening is introduced as a soon-to-be state senator at a Nevada Democratic Party event Tuesday night at the Rio. Copening defeated Sen. Bob Beers.

By David McGrath Schwartz (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Sam Morris

Democrat Shirley Breeden is introduced at the same party at the Rio. Breeden, who retired from the Clark County School District, beat state Sen. Joe Heck.

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Will Nevada be better or worse off in 4 years?

Carson City — The defeat of Republican state Sens. Bob Beers and Joe Heck gave Democrats control of both the Nevada Assembly and Senate for the first time since 1991.

In the bargain, Democrats eliminated, at least for now, two prominent figures of the Nevada Republican Party.

In Beers, conservatives have lost a leading ideological voice in the Legislature for limited government. Once a candidate for governor, Beers was considering another run.

Heck, an emergency room doctor and U.S. Army Reserve colonel, was considered a rising star and possible future candidate for U.S. senator or governor. Those plans have suffered a setback.

In the Assembly, Majority Leader Barbara Buckley now holds a supermajority, or two-thirds of the vote, which will allow Democrats to override a veto from Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons. Democrats needed just one seat to reach the magic number of 28 and it appeared late Tuesday that they had.

The bigger prize for Democrats, however, was the state Senate. Interest groups aligned with the Democrats spent millions to unseat Heck and Beers.

Democrats will now head powerful state Senate committees that can make or break policy agendas.

State Sen. Steven Horsford will likely become majority leader. (The party caucuses will soon meet to pick committee chairmen and leadership.)

The change in Senate leadership will likely further tilt the state’s political power to the south. Sen. Bill Raggio, R-Reno, who has served as the majority leader for every session but one since 1987, has long been perceived as a protector of Northern Nevada’s political power against Southern Nevada’s exploding population.

Long term, Democrats will have the upper hand in realigning political boundaries to favor their party following the 2010 Census.

Yet the next legislative session, which begins in February, will be dominated by the state budget. The change in Senate control will affect the debate.

The latest forecast from the governor’s office is that the state will need a 30 percent across-the-board cut to balance the budget. Even those inside the Gibbons administration question whether government can function with cuts that deep.

That means a proposal will come before the Legislature to raise taxes.

“This legislative session will make 2003 look like kids’ play,” said Guy Rocha, the state’s archivist, referring to the contentious and prolonged battle to raise taxes under then-Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Though Horsford, D-Las Vegas, has said he does not want to raise taxes, pressure to do so will grow as constituencies — parents of public school children, advocates for the poor, public safety officers and prison guards — decry the effects of such massive cuts.

Senate Democrats don’t have the 14 votes, or a two-thirds majority, required to increase taxes or override a Gibbons veto. And Senate Democrats have been notoriously resistant to control, each with their own agenda, and often with higher political aspirations.

But they’ll be in a better position to push their agenda.

Still, that lack of a supermajority in the upper house will give Republicans some leverage. And Horsford is likely going to have to maneuver around Raggio. Even in the minority, he could prove a tough foe, with his knowledge of Senate rules.

Don’t look to Allison Copening, who defeated Beers, or Shirley Breeden, who defeated Heck, to become a driving force during the next legislative session. The candidates relied on outside expenditures that hammered the incumbent with negative ads, a national Democratic wave, and ducking debates and tough questions.

Now, they’ll have to navigate the politics of Carson City. And their positions on the issues, from renewable energy to higher taxes, will be on the record.

Sun reporter Cy Ryan contributed to this story.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy.

By KDR81

Nov. 5, 2008

9:53 a.m.

Suggest removal

Both won thanks to Obama, not because voters actually approved of them.

Too bad for Bob Beers, he was one of the last best hopes for keeping sanity in Carson City.

Now all we'll here is "RAISE TAXES" as a solution to ever problem.
By williamtomany1

Nov. 5, 2008

9:58 a.m.

Suggest removal

The State of Nevada will be the loosers with the defeat of Bob Beers
By SunnyLV

Nov. 5, 2008

10:39 a.m.

Suggest removal

Knocking off Bob Beers is the single best thing that happened yesterday. He has been an irrational obstacle to progress in Nevada for too long. And Obama had nothing to do with getting rid of him -- he did it to himself. He's disingenuous, he's full of hot air, and his biggest concern was seeing how many times he could get his name in the paper. The RJ will probably have to reduce itself by another 4 pages now they won't have Beers to write about. Good riddance.
By joeZ

Nov. 5, 2008

12:48 p.m.

Suggest removal

Bob Beers pushed away the real conservative Republicans at the State convention. Bob Beers defeated himself when he alienated so many loyal, conservative, and influential party members.
By c1721aps

Nov. 5, 2008

12:49 p.m.

Suggest removal

Can anyone say "State Income Tax"? The Californication of Nevada is nearly complete.
By pdubya

Nov. 5, 2008

1 p.m.

Suggest removal

and the ron paul supporters that got scammed by gavel-god beers didn't have anything to do with it?
By Rebels1990

Nov. 5, 2008

1:24 p.m.

Suggest removal

This state is going to suffer from the loss of Dr. Joe Heck.

Breeden should be ashamed of herself. Absolutely ashamed. She basically ran no campaign and offered no solutions. She has no business getting anywhere near the legislature. She will contribute absolutely nothing to help this state get out of the hole we're in.

I hope she enjoyed the Democratic wave that she rode because I guarantee she will not win another term. She's going to be that bad.

Nevadans don't know what they just did by election this woman. WOW.
By gmag39

Nov. 5, 2008

4:39 p.m.

Suggest removal

sunnylv, when I saw he'd lost, I said a silent but heartfelt
YESSSS.
Thank God & good riddance is right.
By timbo123

Nov. 6, 2008

10:38 p.m.

Suggest removal

It is easy to see a most probable future
without Jim Gibbons at the Governor's helm.
Unfortunately, with this bit of good news
comes the strong possibility of seeing in-
creases in state taxes and fees. As a
retiree, I, for one, will move to another
state if Nevada passes into law a state
income tax.
By dickburns

Nov. 10, 2008

12:32 p.m.

Suggest removal

these guys lost because they never offered any solutions to this state's problems except what they thought was a winner for low information voters. no tax ideology, they've never tried to cut anything. beers is a big mouth grandstander who never helped anyone..