Cortez Masto: I’m not running for governor

By Andrew Doughman

Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013 | 10 a.m.

Others may be wondering what term-limited Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto will be doing after she leaves office in 2014, and Masto says she’s wondering too.

The 2014 election is still more than a year away, but candidates are already busy running for office. Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval is running for re-election; Democratic Secretary of State Ross Miller is running for Attorney General; Democratic Treasurer Kate Marshall is running for Secretary of State.

Widely considered one of Nevada’s top Democrats, the Sun caught up with Masto in Las Vegas yesterday and asked her about her future in politics.

Are you interested in running for governor?

I’m not interested in running for lieutenant governor … At this point in time, I have not announced one way or another whether I am running for governor, but I will tell you that no, I am not looking at running for governor this next election cycle. I want to finish out what I’m doing here in the attorney general’s office, and I’m exploring what other options might be available for me, but I can never say I will never run for governor in the future.

Brian Sandoval is running again and you’ve worked with him for the past few years. Is it about not taking him on?

No, no, I’m not afraid of any fight. That’s not the issue. It’s the issue of what I want to do next and where I want to be to work on certain issues that I am passionate about.

Where is that?

I’m exploring that now. I know I have a year left, so I’m not done with the job. So I’m focusing on my office and finishing things I wanted to finish.

What’re other people saying to you? Are they giving you some advice on considering other offices?

Right now, other than exploring it and telling you what I’m interested or what I’m looking to do, the only thing I can tell you right now is the one office people wanted me to run for was Lieutenant Governor, and it’s just not where I want to be. It’s not where I think can use all of my abilities to work on behalf of the state of Nevada.

Why not Lieutenant Governor?

I’m just not interested. It’s a very limited position. It only focuses on a limited area. I know it’s part-time, but it’s not something that really interests me given all the various issues and areas I’ve been able to work on: elder abuse and exploitation, domestic violence, sex trafficking to substance abuse, you name it, crime. It just wouldn’t be something of interest to me based on the job duties and functions.