(12/14/05) -

Gibbons’ Success Depends on Rivals in Nevada

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – There is no clear favourite in the race to replace Kenny Guinn in Nevada, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents in the Silver State would vote for Republican U.S. congressman Jim Gibbons in next year’s election, while 39 per cent would support Democrat state senator Dina Titus.

(Angus Reid Global Scan) – There is no clear favourite in the race to replace Kenny Guinn in Nevada, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. 45 per cent of respondents in the Silver State would vote for Republican U.S. congressman Jim Gibbons in next year’s election, while 39 per cent would support Democrat state senator Dina Titus.

Guinn—a Republican—has acted as Nevada’s governor since January 1999. The businessman earned a second consecutive term in the November 2002 election, defeating Democrat Joe Neal with 62 per cent of the vote. Guinn is ineligible for a third term in office.

In another prospective scenario, Democratic Henderson mayor Jim Gibson holds a three-point advantage over Gibbons.

Gibbons authored a budget bill, which, if passed, would have allowed mining companies to purchase public land cheaply. A congressional ban against such sales had been in place for 11 years. This week, Gibbons promised to revise the bill so that the prohibition remains. Environmental groups claim that even the modified legislation would leave vast tracts of public land—currently used primarily for recreation—unprotected.

The election is scheduled for November 2006. Since 1911, the Silver State has had seven Republican and nine Democratic heads of government.

Polling Data

If the 2006 election for governor were held today, for whom would you vote?

Option 1

Option 2

Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 500 likely Nevada voters, conducted on Dec. 1, 2005. Margin of error is 4.5 per cent.

Original Story at Rasmussen Reports