GOP incumbent Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki adopts Harry Reid defense

By Anjeanette Damon

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2010 | 2 a.m.

His opponent blames him for Nevada’s unemployment rate soaring to 15 percent during his time in office, and he’s defending himself against those attacks by taking credit for renewable energy projects, including a new wind turbine factory in Henderson.

Sound like Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? Yes, but it’s actually a Republican who once considered challenging Reid.

Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki is the only statewide Republican up for re-election this year, and he’s facing the same attacks and using the same line of defense as Reid, even to the point of taking credit for the same jobs Reid claims credit for creating.

It’s an ironic twist this campaign season that has a Republican campaigning on a message opposite of that from the rest of the candidates in his party: Yes, elected officials are creating jobs.

“We’ve been just terribly busy creating jobs, diversifying the economy,” Krolicki said last week. “I think we’ve had some marvelous successes during a very difficult time in Nevada’s history. We’ve created almost 22,000 jobs in partnership with the private sector and brought in billions in new investment.”

Continuing the line of irony, Krolicki’s Democratic opponent, Reno Councilwoman Jessica Sferrazza, is borrowing an attack from Republican Senate candidate Sharron Angle. Sferrazza’s central campaign message is that Nevada’s economy tanked under Krolicki’s leadership as lieutenant governor.

“When he took office the unemployment rate was slightly over 4 percent, and we’re at 15 percent unemployment now,” Sferrazza said in a sound bite that could have come straight from Angle.

The lieutenant governor, in addition to being a “heartbeat away” from the governor’s office, is in charge of economic diversification efforts and promoting tourism in the state.

Two years ago, Krolicki began preparing to run against Reid. Then he was indicted on charges he mishandled funds associated with Nevada’s college savings program during his time as state treasurer.

A judge found the charges were without merit and tossed the case.

Krolicki dismissed the episode as a partisan attack by the state’s Democratic attorney general, Catherine Cortez Masto.

In the meantime, Krolicki has remained popular with voters and maintains a solid lead over Sferrazza in a race that is getting little attention amid the high-profile U.S. Senate race.

Sferrazza is hoping she can capitalize on the anti-incumbent furor that polls indicate is directed almost equally at Republican and Democratic office holders.

In Nevada, that’s bad news for Democrats, who hold four of the six constitutional offices. Gov. Jim Gibbons, a Republican, was defeated in the primary, leaving Krolicki as the only statewide Republican incumbent.

Krolicki’s political adviser, Ryan Erwin, described the comparison between Reid and Krolicki as “apples and oranges.”

“They don’t have the same job,” Erwin said. “One is the Senate majority leader, the second most powerful Democrat in the nation. The other is the lieutenant governor of Nevada.

“I don’t think that voters believe that the lieutenant governor is the single biggest factor in the unemployment rate. I do think that they believe the spending of Congress does impact unemployment.”

Krolicki, as well, dismissed the notion that he could be held responsible for Nevada’s unemployment rate.

“I certainly don’t think the lieutenant governor has that kind of authority over the global economy,” he said.