Gov. Jim Gibbons said he believes there could be some surprises in the results of Nevada's first statewide June primary.
Gibbons, who's being challenged for his seat by former federal judge and attorney general Brian Sandoval, was in Douglas County on Friday to attend the Republican forum.
A straw poll at the candidates' forum gave Gibbons a comfortable lead over both former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon and Sandoval. Gibbons won 58 of the 121 votes cast to Montandon's 43 and Sandoval's 20.
Gibbons, who has participated in Nevada politics for more than 20 years, said the first statewide June primary in the state's history could have some surprising results.
"I think this is our first time doing it statewide, and there will be a learning curve for everyone," he said. "I think it's going to be a most unusual campaign season. We won't know until the primary day who's going to be in office."
The length of time between the June primary and the November general election will also affect strategy.
"The general election will be different," he said. "I'm not sure it's not going to increase the cost of the campaign. You'll be campaigning to a larger audience. There are a lot unknown factors playing out, including the number of candidates, what independent voters will do."
With early voting starting May 22, the primary is 10 days away.
Gibbons said the state will have to budget for priorities like health and safety and then cut from the bottom.
"We're planning for a $3.4 billion revenue shortfall on a $6.8 billion budget," he said. "There is some reality to that. We have only got one recourse. There is no way that you can pull $3.4 billion worth of revenue out of anybody's pocket. If you do, you will drive this recession into the deep bowels of a depression. Job loss will skyrocket."
Gibbons said the only way to balance the budget will be to shrink government.
"As the economy shrinks, the government is going to have to shrink," he said. "It's a natural recourse for what has to happen. Government putting pressure on business drives businesses away."
In the 2009 legislative session, Gibbons was the vetoingest governor in state history, but he was also the most overridden.
He said the 2011 session, which is dealing with all the budget issues 2009 had, plus reapportioning congressional and legislative districts will be difficult.
"It's going to be a challenge," he said. "Things are going to be vastly different in the 2011 session."
Gibbons said that he was able to work with the 2007 Legislature, but that in the 2009 session lawmakers called his budget dead on arrival.
"They kind of poisoned the water," he said. "Before the budget ever got to the Legislature, they said it was dead on arrival. It was difficult to find common ground. We did our best working with them. We knew our role was to buttress the taxpayer from the taxes. They had to overturn my vetoes to get the tax increases through."
