I hope this race gets the attention it deserves. Dina Titus is the underdog but it's many times more winnable than the Nevada senate race and indeed a fascinating contrast in political theory and style.
Titus needs a huge number out of Clark County and to cut her losses elsewhere. It's doable since she is based in Las Vegas while Jim Gibbons is not especially well known or popular in southern Nevada, after representing the rural congressional district 2 for the past decade.
Titus would be a big favorite on liberal blogs if well known on the national stage. She is a true progressive bulldog who wiped out her more moderate primary opponent Jim Gibson in two televised debates late in the campaign, turning that race into a 17 point rout. Titus is a fantastic speaker who honed her skills via nearly 30 years as a political science professor, currently in that position at UNLV. Gibbons is a known verbal blunderer who hid from the debates all year until the final week before the primary. No doubt he'll want as few debates as possible with Titus.
THE CANDIDATES
Dina Titus:
1. All-day kindergarten for all children, higher teacher pay.
2. Push for renewable energy with subsidies and tax incentives.
3. Incentives for small businesses to provide health insurance to employees.
4. Aggressive protection of the environment and natural resources.
5. Ethics plan with new restrictions on campaign giving, among other measures.
Jim Gibbons:
1. Low taxes and no new ones. Would consider a taxpayer rebate.
2. Performance-based budget for government programs.
3. Believes in school vouchers.
4. Establish a clearinghouse for security threats.
5. Create a friendly environment for energy companies to develop in Nevada. Particular emphasis on establishing oil or “clean coal” refineries.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/sun/2006/aug/17/566679642.html"One candidate for governor is a twangy-tongued Southerner with an acid wit and a program for education, health care, energy and the environment. The other is a snow-haired fighter pilot from Sparks with a resume and a promise to hold the line on taxes and spending.
Jim Gibbons and Dina Titus. North and South. Conservative and liberal. Man and woman.
"There hasn't been a contrast like this in maybe forever," said Kent Oram, a longtime Nevada political consultant. "It's a stark contrast."
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"Titus, the state Senate minority leader and a UNLV professor, will be out every day pounding Rotary podiums telling voters government ought to be harnessed to move the state forward with better education, health care, alternative energy and economic diversity. She would be Nevada's first woman governor.
She believes Nevada lags behind the rest of the country in important measures of social health such as high school and college degrees, diversification of the economy, childhood poverty and crimes against women and children.
For Titus, only a more activist government can ameliorate these problems. She is calling for all-day kindergarten and higher teacher pay. She would invest in renewable energy to meet the state's energy needs and diversify the economy. She would fight for environmental protection. She would spend money to attract nurses and keep them."