Democrats urge 'unbeatable' Miller to pursue Senate bid

Democrats are pushing hard today to persuade former Gov. Bob Miller to run for the Senate seat being given up by Richard Bryan.

Bryan and his fellow Nevada Democrat, Sen. Harry Reid, have told Miller they would like to see him succeed Bryan, who stunned the political scene Thursday by announcing he would not seek a third term in 2000.

"I hope he runs," Reid said Thursday. "I think he's unbeatable. It won't matter who gets into the race."

Miller was one of the first people Bryan telephoned Wednesday after he decided to call it quits. He informed Miller hours before Reid, his longtime friend and political colleague.

Bryan and Reid have enlisted the support of President Clinton, Vice President Al Gore and first lady Hillary Clinton, who's being wooed into a Senate race herself in New York, to help twist Miller's arm. All are good friends with Miller.

Gore, the Democratic front-runner in the race for president in 2000, already is said to have telephoned Miller.

Sen. Robert Torricelli of New Jersey, chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, also is said to be on his way to Las Vegas to meet with Miller to urge him into the race.

Michael Tucker, a spokesman for the senatorial committee, acknowledged from Washington that Miller was at the top of the party's short list.

"We certainly think he would make a formidable candidate," Tucker said.

Miller, who retired as governor in January with a 70 percent-plus popularity rating, told the Sun on Thursday that he's interested in the Senate job but does not want to rush into a decision.

He said he hasn't even had a chance to see whether he likes being in the private sector.

Another potential Democratic candidate, Las Vegas Mayor Jan Laverty Jones, said she would be "100 percent behind Bob Miller" if he chose to run. Jones, who chose not to seek a third term as mayor this year, lost to Miller in the 1994 Democratic primary.

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa, who withdrew from the governor's race last year, is interested in running, but she's unlikely to step into the race if Miller does.

The favorite potential candidate among Republican Party leaders is former Rep. John Ensign, who lost a narrow race to Reid last year.

"He's the man that Republicans are going to look to," said Dan Burdish, executive director of the Nevada Republican Party.

Burdish said he was "99 percent sure" Ensign would run.

Ensign has expressed an interest in Bryan's seat and is expected to make a decision soon.

So is Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., who according to one GOP activist has the best chance of winning the seat for Republicans.

Chuck Muth, chairman of the Nevada Republican Liberty Caucus, said Gibbons' stature as an incumbent congressman makes him the front-runner.

"John (Ensign) had his shot," Muth said. "If Jim Gibbons is interested in it, you have to put him at the top."

But Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, already is publicly pushing Ensign for the job. He told CNN on Thursday that he hoped Ensign would run.

Gibbons declined to discuss his plans on Thursday, but aides said he would not be afraid to take on Ensign in a primary if he decided he wanted to run. Earlier this week, Gibbons told Bryan he wouldn't get into the race if the Democratic stalwart sought re-election. But Gibbons added he would strongly consider a bid if Bryan bowed out.

Gibbons, a former assemblyman, lost to Miller in the 1994 general election but has become politically stronger since being elected to the House in 1996.

State Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, a rising star within the GOP, also has expressed an interest in running. James, who has been contemplating a House bid in 2000, said Thursday he will take a "hard look" at the Senate race.

GOP leaders hope to avoid a bitter primary before challenging a Democrat for the Senate seat, now considered up for grabs.

Tucker said Democrats in Washington are confident the party will be able to hold onto Bryan's seat as it tries to cut into the GOP's 55-45 majority in the Senate. Of the seats up for grabs, 19 are held by Republicans and 14 by Democrats.

The Nevada race, Tucker said, now has become a priority for Senate Democrats.

"I think we will bring a lot of zeal in keeping that seat in the Democratic column," Tucker said. "We're very pleased with the Democratic bench there."

Those politically close to Miller, meanwhile, said the seat is his for the taking.

"All eyes are going to be on him," said Jim Mulhall, vice president of governmental affairs for the Nevada Resort Association. Mulhall is Miller's former chief of staff.

Veteran political consultant Billy Vassiliadis, Miller's longtime strategist, said the former governor has the best shot of anyone in either party of winning the race.

If Miller does run, it would be the second time Bryan has been in a position to further his political career. Miller became interim governor in January 1989 after Bryan left in midterm and was elected to the Senate.

In November 1990, Miller was elected governor in his own right and went on to serve the longest tenure of anyone (10 years) in the state.

Bryan's departure from the Senate is expected to hurt Nevada in its fight against the high-level nuclear waste dump proposed for Yucca Mountain. Bryan has been leading the charge against the dump for 17 years.

His presence on the Senate Finance Committee, which deals with many casino industry issues, also is going to be missed.

Bryan has been the most vocal critic of the National Gambling Impact Study Commission, which has been conducting a controversial two-year examination of the casino industry in America.

Reid, the Senate's minority whip, called Bryan's retirement from the Senate a "terrible loss" for him personally but a "devastating loss" for Nevada.

Before he announced his decision to step aside at a news conference Thursday, Bryan hugged Reid and said: "This is going to be a little teary-eyed, my friend."

Reid later said: "This is like going to a funeral."

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