NV-GOV

GOPer Sandoval Hit With Allegations Of Hiring Illegal Immigrant (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | October 12, 2010, 4:31PM

Nevada Gov. candidate Brian Sandoval (R)

Brian Sandoval, the Republican nominee for governor of Nevada, now has a new political headache on his hands: A woman from Guatemala who claims that she worked as a housekeeper for Sandoval and his wife years ago -- when she was an illegal immigrant.

As the local CBS affiliate in Las Vegas reports, on the claims being made by Ana Padilla:

She claims then-state Assemblyman Brian Sandoval's wife Kathleen hired her after Padilla handed out business cards in their neighborhood October 1996.

"The checks were signed by Mrs. Kathleen and the checks had Brian Sandoval and Kathleen Sandoval's name, address and phone," she said.

But Padilla has no documented proof of those checks. She claims she was told Bank of America only allows access to those records up to seven years. Padilla says she was paid $40 to clean the Sandoval house every Monday.

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Carl Paladino

Anti-Gov't Paladino Receives Millions In Tax Breaks, Has Created Only 25 New Jobs

Jillian Rayfield | October 4, 2010, 12:18PM

Carl Paladino

A probe by the New York Daily News has found that New York Republican gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino has received $3 million in tax breaks as part of a program to help boost the economy in Buffalo, but has only created a total of 25 jobs. Paladino, a New York tea party favorite, often touts anti-government themes in his campaign.

The government program he benefits from, called Empire Zones, is a statewide effort "to stimulate economic growth through a variety of tax incentives designed to attract new businesses to New York and to enable existing businesses to expand and create more jobs," according to the site.

Paladino, a Buffalo-based real estate developer, notably made his investments for his own existing properties without creating any new projects -- in one case putting $19 million into renovations for his buildings.

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Carl Paladino

Paladino On Confronting Reporter: I Was Protecting My Family

Jillian Rayfield | September 30, 2010, 5:29PM

New York Gubernatorial Candidate Carl Paladino

Carl Paladino's campaign released a statement today regarding last night's New York Post reporter-threatening incident, and defended the Republican gubernatorial nominee's actions as "protecting his family."

Paladino claims that Post Editor Fred Dicker was involved in sending photographers to take pictures of Paladino's 10-year-old daughter, whom he had with a woman who is not his wife. The intrusion, the release said, makes the girl "susceptible to kidnapping or sexual predators." It adds: "Endangering the safety of a 10-year-old child is repugnant."

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NV-SEN

Poll: Angle Leads Reid By One In NV-SEN Race

Marc Kilstein | September 15, 2010, 6:01PM

US Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV)

Over the last week, a flurry of polls of the Nevada Senate race have been released that tell a similar narrative -- Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican rival Sharron Angle are statistically deadlocked. A new CNN/Time poll released today finds one more batch of numbers that support the trend. Among likely voters, the survey shows Angle leading Reid 42%-41%, with Tea Party candidate Scott Ashijan earning 5%.

There is no previous CNN/Time poll for direct comparison. But no mainstream poll conducted over the last two months has produced an advantage for either candidate outside of its margin of error. Most recently, Rasmussen saw a 48%-48% tie in its September 13 survey, Ipsos gave Reid a slight 46%-44% edge in its September 12 poll, and Fox News' September 11 poll found Angle up 45%-44%.

Worth noting, when the CNN/Time poll surveyed the wider pool of all registered voters (instead of just likely voters), Reid led 42%-34%.

Though no recent poll has produced a noteworthy lead for Reid, the Democrat is still up in the TPM Poll Average, 47.3%-44.7%.

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NV-GOV

Rasmussen Poll: GOPer Sandoval Up 15 In NV-GOV Race

Marc Kilstein | August 19, 2010, 11:58AM

NV-GOV candidates Brian Sandoval (R) and Rory Reid (D)

A new Rasmussen poll of the Nevada gubernatorial race shows Republican nominee Brian Sandoval with a double-digit lead over Democratic nominee Rory Reid.

The latest survey finds Sandoval ahead 15 points, 55%-40%, when "leaners" are included in the results. On respondents' initial preference, Sandoval holds a 16-point lead, 52%-36%. A July 27 Rasmussen poll produced a slightly narrower 10-point advantage for the Republican candidate. In that survey, which did not include "leaners", Sandoval led Reid, 50%-40%. The Democrat has yet to poll within single digits of Sandoval.

The TPM Poll Average has Sandoval ahead in the contest, 52.5%-37.2%. The margin of error for the latest Rasmussen poll is ±4.0 percentage points.

For more on the race, check out TPMDC's full coverage here.

NV-GOV

Mason-Dixon Poll: Sandoval Leads Rory Reid By 16 In NV-GOV Race

Eric Kleefeld | August 16, 2010, 11:30AM

NV-GOV candidates Brian Sandoval (R) and Rory Reid (D)

The new Mason-Dixon poll of the Nevada gubernatorial race finds that Republican nominee Brian Sandoval continues to lead Democratic nominee Rory Reid by a big margin, though the lead has narrowed just slightly.

The numbers: Sandoval 52%, Rory Reid 36%. The survey of registered voters has a ±4% margin of error. In the previous Mason-Dixon poll from late July, Sandoval led by 50%-31%.

In the Senate race, the same batch of polling showed Rory Reid's father, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, leading Republican Sharron Angle by 43%-42% So clearly, there are voters who would pick Brian Sandoval, but are leery of the other Republican in the Senate race, where Angle has faced heat for her right-wing views and habit of avoiding the mainstream media. And on the other end, some voters who are picking Harry Reid are not going for Rory at this juncture.

The TPM Poll Average puts Sandoval ahead by 52.0%-36.4%.

NV-GOV

GOPer Sandoval Takes Heat For Reportedly Saying His Kids Don't Look Hispanic

Eric Kleefeld | July 30, 2010, 10:34AM

Nevada Gov. candidate Brian Sandoval (R)

Brian Sandoval, the Republican nominee for governor in Nevada, is coming under fire for reportedly saying in an interview with Univision that he's not worried about his own children being asked for their papers in neighboring Arizona -- because his children don't look Hispanic. Sandoval has not acknowledged making the statement, but he has apologized just in case he did.

The gaffe was first announced by Adriana Arévalo, the news director for Univision Nevada, in a scathing column in the Spanish-language newspaper El Tiempo. If elected, Sandoval would be Nevada's first Hispanic governor. He currently has a lead of 53.4%-36.9% over Democratic nominee Rory Reid in the TPM Poll Average.

Univision has declined to release a full tape of the interview, on the grounds that it is their own work product.

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2010 elections

Rasmussen Poll: Rory Reid Gaining On GOPer Sandoval In NV-GOV -- Lead Cut To 10

Thomas Rhiel | July 29, 2010, 5:03PM

NV-GOV candidates Brian Sandoval (R) and Rory Reid (D)

A new Rasmussen poll of the Nevada governor's race shows Republican Brian Sandoval 10 points ahead of Democrat Rory Reid, but Reid appears to be gaining some ground. Sandoval's 50%-40% lead is narrower than the commanding 21-point lead he had in Rasmussen's previous poll from July 12.

Other recent polls have shown Reid -- the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who's also up for reelection in Nevada -- far behind Sandoval, a former federal judge. The last surveys of the contest from PPP and Mason-Dixon both showed Sandoval up 14 points.

The TPM Poll Average for the Nevada governor's race shows Sandoval with 53.4% and Reid with 36.9%. The margin of error for the latest Rasmussen survey is ±4.0 percentage points.

Check out TPMDC's full coverage of the race here.

NV-GOV

PPP Poll: Republican Sandoval Maintains Big Lead Over Rory Reid In NV-GOV Race

Thomas Rhiel | July 21, 2010, 4:33PM

NV-GOV candidates Brian Sandoval (R) and Rory Reid (D)

His father, the Senate Majority Leader, may be back on top in his Senate race against Sharron Angle (R), but Democratic Clark County Commission Chair Rory Reid is foundering in his campaign to become Nevada's next governor, a new poll suggests.

A PPP survey released today shows Republican Brian Sandoval, the former federal judge, with a commanding 14-point lead over Reid.

The poll has Sandoval with 52% and Reid with 38% of the vote. Those numbers are a bit tighter than those from the three most recent Rasmussen polls -- which had Sandoval's margin over Reid at more than 20 points -- but they nevertheless seem to spell trouble for Reid, whose favorable rating is only 34%, compared to Sandoval's 42%.

The TPM Poll Average gives Sandoval a lead of 54.5%-35.5%. The margin of error of the latest PPP survey is ±3.9 percentage points.

NV-GOV

Angle: I Can No Longer Say 'Take Out' Harry Reid

Eric Kleefeld | July 12, 2010, 11:30AM

US Senate candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV)

Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has acknowledged making some changes to her overall tone in the campaign -- most notably dialing back her statements about "Second Amendment remedies" and the need to "take out" Reid. At the same time, though, she insists that her message hasn't changed, and that her supporters know it.

In an interview with the Las Vegas Review Journal, Angle discussed her resistance to having advisers who might try to remake her:

Still, Angle acknowledged she has toned down her words after being pummeled for saying things such as wanting to "take out" Harry Reid in the same breath that she mentions that people angry at government have "Second Amendment remedies" available, or the right to bear arms.

"As far as a makeover and refining the message, Harry Reid has pretty much forced that when he sound bites me," Angle said. "I have to be very careful about how I phrase things. I can no longer say words like 'take out.' Those have now gone out of my vocabulary because he has misinterpreted what I meant by those words. I don't say 'take out.' I say 'defeat.' It means the same thing. And my people know defeat means the same thing. I don't have to use our colloquialisms to get my point across.

"They also know that I'm a person who has done what I have said I would do, and I will continue to do what I say I'll do."

The TPM Poll Average currently gives Angle a lead of 46.0%-40.8%.

NV-GOV

New Angle Ad: Nevada Is Now Worse Than Michigan (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | July 9, 2010, 9:58AM

A new ad from US Sen candidate Sharron Angle (R-NV) attacking Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) on jobs.

Sharron Angle, the Republican nominee for Senate in Nevada against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, has a new one-minute ad featuring dire and tragic music -- mixed with fear-mongering about Michigan that could have been taken right out of The Kentucky Fried Movie.

The ad features no dialogue, other than the compulsory voice-over from Angle saying she approved the message, but instead features music with a montage of unemployed people and on-screen text from news clips about Nevada's economic situation. And the message is repeatedly hammered home that Nevada's unemployment is now worse than Michigan.

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NV-SEN

Nevada's GOP First Lady To TPM: I'm Backing Harry Reid Over Sharron Angle

Christina Bellantoni | June 11, 2010, 5:23PM

Dawn Gibbons

Nevada First Lady Dawn Gibbons, a Republican and soon-to-be-ex-wife of recently defeated Gov. Jim Gibbons, said in an interview she is supporting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's reelection bid because he is the better candidate on the economy. But she thinks Reid (D-NV) has quite a fight on his hands this fall.

Gibbons, a former state assembly member, has been up close and personal with Reid's Republican rival, Sharron Angle. They served together in the state legislature and were even opponents in a three-way GOP primary for the state's 2nd Congressional district seat in 2006.

"There's no question Sharron Angle is one of the toughest grassroots campaigners I've ever seen," Gibbons told TPM in a phone interview.

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NV-GOV

Poll: GOPer Sandoval Leads Rory Reid For NV-GOV

Eric Kleefeld | June 11, 2010, 11:14AM

NV-GOV candidates Brian Sandoval (R) and Rory Reid (D)

The new Rasmussen poll of the Nevada gubernatorial race shows Republican Brian Sandoval, a former federal judge who easily defeated incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons in the GOP primary, way ahead of Democratic Clark County Commission Chair Rory Reid, son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

The numbers: Sandoval 54%, Reid 31%. The survey of likely voters has a ±4.5% margin of error. This result in fact shows little movement from previous polls, before Sandoval's much-expected primary win over the scandal-plagued Gibbons. The previous Rasmussen poll, from all the way back in late March had Sandoval ahead 55%-34%. The TPM Poll Average has Sandoval ahead 52.3%-36.2%.

As we've previously noted, this race is quite unique, with a father and son appearing together on the same statewide ballot as the elder Reid simultaneously seeks re-election to his Senate seat. At the time I wrote the post in December, I asked various political experts whether they knew of a prior high-profile example. They did not -- this might actually be the first time in U.S. political history.

NV-GOV

Farewell, Jim Gibbons: The Tale Of One Term

Evan McMorris-Santoro | June 8, 2010, 11:53PM

Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV)

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons (R) has become the first incumbent governor in state history to lose a primary. With 13% of precincts reporting Tuesday night, the AP called the race for former federal judge Brian Sandoval. He will now face Rory Reid, son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who won the Democratic nomination.

Now Gibbons fades from the political spotlight. But for entertainment value alone, one hopes he won't stay out of sight for long.

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2010 elections

A Primary Primer: A Guide To Tuesday's Big Races

Eric Kleefeld | June 7, 2010, 1:32PM

A woman votes on November 7, 2006

Tomorrow is a veritable "Super Tuesday" of primaries in this non-presidential election year, with a whole host of top-tier primaries going on across the country. A total of 11 states are holding primaries: Arkansas, California, Iowa, Maine, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota and Virginia.

So let's take a look at some of the most notable races.

AR-SEN (D): One of the biggest races tomorrow is the Democratic Senate primary runoff between incumbent Sen. Blanche Lincoln and Lt. Gov. Bill Halter. Lincoln has been aggressively targeted for defeat by organized labor and liberal activists, due to her opposition to the public option during the health care debates. (She did vote for the final bill that was signed into law, and which did not include a public option.) The TPM Poll Average gives Halter a lead of 49.7%-44.9%, but there is also an important caveat: Research 2000 has been the only pollster to publicly release numbers on this race during the runoff period, so we are dependent on only one source of data.

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NV-GOV

Poll: Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons On Track To Lose Tuesday's Republican Primary

Eric Kleefeld | June 3, 2010, 2:54PM

Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV), and NV-GOV candidate Brian Sandoval (R)

The new Daily Kos/Research 2000 poll of Nevada finds that yet another incumbent is set to lose his party's primary this Tuesday: scandal-plagued Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons, who appears on course to lose in a landslide against former federal Judge Brian Sandoval.

The numbers: Sandoval 48%, Gibbons 27%, and former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon 6%. The poll of likely GOP primary voters has a ±5% margin of error. The TPM Poll Average has Sandoval at 40.6%, Gibbons 25.0%, and Montandon 7.0%.

Gibbons was elected governor in 2006, and since then has had to deal with a variety of scandals involving a messy divorce, allegations of marital infidelity, and even an accusation of sexual assault. And yet in the face of consistent polling that showed he would lose his primary to the challenger Sandoval, he's kept on going.

Health Care

Now Comes The Hard Part -- States Scrambling To Understand Health Care Reform Law

Christina Bellantoni | March 31, 2010, 10:36AM

Democrats in Washington have popped the champagne and are basking in the political victory of passing health care reform. But back in the states, government officials are starting the real work of implementing the plan. And it's more chaotic than celebratory.

Health care reform is barely one week old, and state health officials are scrambling to inform their citizens about what it actually means. It's a task that's not so easy when it's preceded by a yearlong political fight and comes against a backdrop of more than a dozen lawsuits across the country challenging the legitimacy of reform. Not that a massive overhaul of the health care system would ever be easy to explain.

TPMDC has been checking in with state health offices from the Mountain West to the Sunshine State to find out how officials are handling the major question of what the states must do under the new law. President Obama's administration is helping state officials learn what's in the law, and the various dates its provisions take effect. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius met with state health officials at a conference Monday to outline the law. Insurance commissioners gathered to talk about new regulations on insurers over the weekend. Top Congressional staffers are huddling today with aides representing state and county governments.

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Harry Reid

Nevada Poll Looks Tough For 'Reid' -- Both Father And Son

Eric Kleefeld | December 8, 2009, 3:06PM

Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) and NV-GOV candidate Rory Reid.

The recent Mason-Dixon poll of Nevada finds that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to be in trouble for his 2010 re-election bid -- and what's more, his son Rory, a Clark County (Las Vegas) commissioner, isn't polling well for his gubernatorial campaign, either.

The Senate race poll found Harry Reid trailing Republican Sue Lowden by 51%-41%, and trailing Republican Danny Tarkanian by 48%-42%. In the gubernatorial poll, Rory Reid trailed Republican frontrunner Brian Sandoval by 49%-34%, and came in third place in a potential three-way race involving Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman as an independent: Goodman 35%, Sandoval 32%, Rory Reid 24%.

To the best of my knowledge, this could be the first time ever that a father and son have been on a statewide ballot before, and it's a case of some very high-profile politicians, too. It does present some interesting potential ramifications -- that the two could end up rising or falling together.

"Harry Reid has always been kind of a cat on a hot tin roof here," said UNLV political science professor Ted G. Jelen, regarding the Senator's lackluster poll numbers, in an interview with TPM. "He's never been particularly comfortable. He has been winning elections, but it is a swing state, and it's also difficult to run in a swing state from a leadership position."

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NV-GOV

Harry Reid's Son Running For Governor of Nevada

Eric Kleefeld | October 15, 2009, 6:20PM

Clark County, Nevada, Commissioner Rory Reid (D)

Senate Majority Leader Harry's Reid's son, Clark County (Las Vegas) Commissioner Rory Reid, has officially declared that he is running for Governor of Nevada in 2010 -- the same year that his father is facing a tough re-election fight to the Senate.

Reid the Younger put himself forward as a policy wonk, laying out a policy roadmap for the state's future: "I'm going to challenge anyone else who wants this office to either agree with me or propose something different."

Jim Gibbons

Poll: Nevada Gov. Gibbons Would Lose Re-Election In Republican Primary

Eric Kleefeld | August 21, 2009, 6:43PM

Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV)

A new Mason-Dixon poll has some bad news for scandal-plagued Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-NV): If he runs for re-election he would likely lose the Republican nomination in a landslide.

U.S. District Court Judge Brian Sandoval, who recently announced that he is resigning from the bench and is expected to run for governor as a Republican, has 33% in the GOP primary to Gibbons' 17%.

Also, the poll shows that Clark County (Las Vegas) Commissioner Rory Reid, a son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, is not the favorite for the Democratic nomination if he runs. Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman would be the favorite with 34%, followed by state Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley at 25%, and Reid the Younger with 13%. In a two-way primary of Buckley and Reid -- Goodman could potentially run as an independent -- Buckley has 43% to Reid's 22%.