Oscar Goodman

With the next election cycle already shaping up to be one of the most exciting in Nevada's history, some observers are looking toward a 2010 governor's race that could end up being one of the most interesting races in the nation.

Anticipation has kicked into overdrive due in part to a handful of Democrats vying for the shot to take down incumbent Gov. Jim Gibbons (R-Sparks), who has a 21 percent approval rating, according to a recent poll conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research in Washington D.C.

At the head of the pack is Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid (D-Henderson), son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who surveyed 601 voters in a private poll that sized him up against both Gibbons and Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley to the tune of favorable results.

LAS VEGAS—Eyebrows raised across the Las Vegas political community last week when 5th District Assembly candidate Donna Toussaint sent out a fundraising invite, listing among her hosts Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese and Councilmen Steve Wolfson and Ricki Barlow.

The controversy, simply put, is that Toussaint is a Republican seeking the open Republican seat being vacated by Valerie Weber. Although their positions are non-partisan, Mayor Goodman, Reese, Wolfson and Barlow are Democrats.

“I’ve worked with these people for over a decade,” said Toussaint Monday. “It’s just a relationship that we’ve developed over the years, one of mutual respect.”

President Bush spent only a moment on the tarmac before boarding a limousine.Las Vegas- President Bush touched down in Las Vegas last night ahead of a half day of events in the city Thursday.  The president is expected to speak this morning before the Nevada Policy Research Institute and to host a fundraiser at a home owned by Sheldon Adelson, Chairman of the Sands Corp.

Traditionally, presidents spend the weeks immediately following the State of the Union address barnstorming the country to build support for their SOTU agenda.  Despite the relative lack of new policy initiatives in the address, the president is spending much of this week on a four-state swing speaking before friendly audiences and raising money for Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to struggle for the approval of Nevada voters. In an October 15 Mason-Dixon poll conducted by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Reid had an upside-down 32%-51% favorable rating -- which means Nevadans don't view Reid much differently than they view President George W. Bush, who has an upside-down favorable rating of 34%-54%.