Jones' candidacy energizes Democrats

It took the last day of filing to do it, but Nevadans finally have a race for governor this year.

With her candidacy, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones has energized Democrats desperate for someone strong at the top of the ticket to lead them into Campaign '98.

Her toughest primary opponent will be state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, who has pledged to raise gaming taxes.

On the Republican side, Lt. Gov. Lonnie Hammargren joined Jones in jumping into the race at the last minute.

He's said to be prepared to spend as much as $1 million of his retirement fund in a primary battle with Las Vegas businessman Kenny Guinn and Hollywood producer Aaron Russo.

But it is Jones who on Monday stole the show from Hammargren.

Democrats can hardly believe their good fortune.

Assuming she's able to best Neal in the primary, her candidacy will help Democrats across the board, especially Sen. Harry Reid, who's in a re-election dogfight with Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., and Regent Shelley Berkley, who's running for the congressman's seat.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, in a tough re-election fight with Republican Scott Scherer, and Rose McKinney-James, battling County Commissioner Lorraine Hunt for lieutenant governor, also can expect to get a boost from Jones and her supporters.

Hurt the most by Monday's 11th-hour filings is Guinn, who has built up a formidable $3 million campaign war chest in running for the job for more than two years.

Guinn has been watching Russo, an independently wealthy man, nipping at his heels for months.

Now, he'll have to spend time fending off attacks from Hammargren and possibly Jones in the general election.

It means he'll have to use up every penny of the $3 million he's raised so far and more to come out on top in November. He'll no longer have the option of setting aside funds for other Republican candidates.

Guinn, however, remains the front-runner in the race, having locked up solid support within the casino industry, business community and labor movement.

He issued a statement late Monday indicating the "last-minute filing flurry" won't change his personal strategy of reaching out to voters across the state.

Since January, while others have contemplated running for governor, Guinn has made 163 campaign speeches in Northern Nevada alone.

Hammargren's decision is not all that surprising. He has been dropping hints for weeks that he was ready to run against Guinn.

But the mayor's candidacy is shocking.

Only a week ago, she had told Guinn she wasn't going to run. It leaves observers wondering whether her decision was based on a whim.

Jones enters the rigors of the campaign knowing that she will be undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the same time.

She also recalls how poorly she did four years ago, when she last ran for governor.

Her primary challenge of Gov. Bob Miller self-destructed at the close of the campaign.

Many of the same people who backed Miller, including the Democratic fund-raising machine, now are supporting Guinn.

As for Hammargren, he may give Guinn a few fits.

But he, too, has political baggage that will come out during the heat of the campaign.

For the moment, however, Nevadans have a race for governor.

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