Sandoval will seek re-election, but no guarantee he’ll finish the term

By Cy Ryan

Tuesday, July 9, 2013 | 4:43 p.m.

Gov. Brian Sandoval says he has the best job in America, and he wants another four years.

“I will finish my four-year term and seek another four-year term after that,” he told reporters Tuesday.

But he sidestepped a question, as he has before, about whether he would serve out a full four years if re-elected.

There has been political speculation that he might challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in the 2016 election.

Sandoval has moved up the political ladder quickly, bouncing from one office to another.

He served two terms in the Assembly, representing Reno in the 1995 and 1997 sessions. He resigned in 1998 and was appointed a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission. A year later, he became chairman.

He quit that post to run for attorney general in 2002. He won that race but left office before his term was up to become a federal judge in October 2005.

Then he resigned the federal judgeship to run for governor in 2010.

Sandoval said he loves his job, but it is a lot of hard work.

The political guessing grew Monday when he endorsed Republican state Sen. Mark Hutchison of Las Vegas as the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor.

If the GOP team won, this would permit Sandoval to go for the U.S. Senate and leave a Republican to fill out his term.

Sandoval said Tuesday he chatted with Hutchison about the run for lieutenant governor. He said no other candidate has contacted him about seeking the post of lieutenant governor.