Sandoval still unsure whom to support in GOP caucus

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016 | 10:22 a.m.

Undecided on whom to support in today’s GOP presidential caucus? You’re not alone.

Gov. Brian Sandoval, who just returned from a meeting of the National Governors Association in Washington, D.C., remains on the fence and said he wants to support somebody with executive experience. He added that he has been been named a vice chairman in the Governors Association and will become chairman of the national organization in 2018.

Lt Gov. Mark Hutchinson backs Marco Rubio. Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt supports Ted Cruz.

Sandoval said earlier he could not back Donald Trump. He said he has received requests to back a particular candidate but had not made a decision.

He also brushed off reports that he might be on the list for an appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court as “media speculation.” Sandoval said he has not been contacted by anyone in the Obama administration and noted he and other governors had just met with President Barack Obama.

Sandoval said he met in Washington with the heads of the Agriculture Department, Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency. He said he’s concerned that the Agriculture Department spends large amounts of money fighting range fires in Nevada but doesn’t put up much to rehabilitate the land.

Sandoval and the EPA discussed the federal government declaring an abandoned mining site in Lyon County eligible for federal cleanup money. And he spoke with Interior about designating property north of Reno as off-limits to protect sage grouse. The state has offered other land as habitat for the endangered animal.