Rory Reid

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.

Democratic party leaders and elected officials declare their unified support of Ill. Sen. Barack Obama for president.: Politicker Photo.LAS VEGAS – Democratic party leaders and elected officials assembled in both Las Vegas and Reno today in a show of unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama’s bid for the presidency.  In Las Vegas, an entire platoon of Democratic leaders assembled for a photo opportunity at the state party headquarters, headed by state Sen. Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas), the leader of Obama’s Nevada campaign, and Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, formerly head of N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s effort in the state.

Both Obama's and Clinton's campaigns struggled at every stage to secure Nevada's delegates to the Democratic National Convention. At times, particularly during a lawsuit to shut down at-large caucus sites on The Strip and following an aborted Clark County Convention, the rivalry brought accusations that many predicted would fester after the primaries.

Today's photo opportunity, held one day before Obama's first visit to Nevada since securing his party's nomination, was an attempt to allay those concerns.

LAS VEGAS - State Democratic leaders came together in Las Vegas Monday to display their unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

LAS VEGAS - State Democratic leaders came together in Las Vegas Monday to display their unity behind Ill. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign.

Look for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to take a leading role on Wednesday morning to end the campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.   Reid will wait until after Puerto Rico and Montana select their delegates, and then begin to nudge key Hillary Clinton supporters across the nation to press the Senator from New York to exit the race and unite the party behind Barack Obama. 

Reid would likely fill this role anyway – he doesn’t want a protracted delegate battle in Denver.   But his move to end the fight will coincidentally help his son, Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, secure a seat on the Obama Express, even though he was an early and active Clinton supporter.

Secretary of State Ross Miller is running for Governor in 2010, according to a Democratic party leader who is close to Miller.  That’s not exactly stop-the-presses kind of news, since the son of former Governor Bob Miller has been expressing interest for quite a while – albeit privately.  One of Miller’s concerns is a race between the sons of two leading politicians – a Democratic primary against Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid, the son of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.   One of the talking points from Team Miller: that Harry Reid has not yet secured his own re-election in two years, and with unimpressive local poll numbers, the Majority Leader ought to concentrate on his own political career and not run on a ticket with his own son.

Can Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid run for Governor in 2010 if his father runs for re-election? Some pundits say that Reid, widely viewed as a rising star in Democratic politics, would be at a disadvantage if he tries to share the statewide ballot with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who has been struggling to increase his job approval ratings among voters in his home state. 

LAS VEGAS-On the heels of Robert Daskas' surprising announcement that he was ending his congressional campaign today, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee's and the Nevada Democratic Party's chairmen, Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen and Sam Lieberman, have made it clear who they consider the best candidate to face Republican Congressman Jon Porter in the fall.

"Dina Titus would be an excellent candidate with unparalleled experience and support from people in Nevada's 3rd congressional district," said Van Hollen by e-mail. "Her vision, strength, and ability to get things done for Nevada would make her a powerful voice for change."

Obama volunteers phone-banking Clark County delegates for the Apr. 12 re-voteLAS VEGAS-Saturday, elected delegates from the Clark County Democrats' Jan. 19 precinct caucuses will descend on the Thomas and Mack Center at UNLV to cast make-up votes from their unsuccessful Feb. 23 convention. As the date approaches, both remaining Democratic presidential campaigns are working feverishly to turn out their delegates and hopefully improve on their positions heading into the state convention May 17-18.

Since the new county voting plan was announced Mar. 5, the campaigns of both N.Y. Sen. Hillary Clinton and Ill. Sen. Barack Obama, with the help of state and county party staff, have identified their full complements of delegates for the re-vote and mailed delegates their credentials. Now, the campaigns are relying on telephone and e-mail contacts for a GOTD (get-out-the-delegates) effort to get their people to the Apr. 12 poll.

"We're just whipping our delegates," said Clinton state and Clark County Commission Chairman Rory Reid today. "It's a pretty small universe relative to what we had to deal with prior to Jan. 19. We're just encouraging them to come to the convention on the 12th and vote for Hillary."

LAS VEGAS – Responding to a question from PolitickerNV.com today, Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) declared without reservation that she will not be challenging Gov. Jim Gibbons in 2010.

“I can speak with great authority on that,” said Berkley laughing, “I never opened that door, so you can’t close something that was never opened.”