Filing opens for Heller's seat

There was a line at the door when the Secretary of State's office opened filing for Dean Heller's former congressional seat Wednesday morning.

Within the first 90 minutes, five candidates had filed declarations of candidacy for the Sept. 13 special election.

The list includes three of the most prominent candidates - state Sen. Greg Brower, GOP state chairman and former state Sen. Mark Amodei, both Republicans, and State Treasurer Kate Marshall, a Democrat.

In a surprise move, Republican Sharron Angle, who previously said she would run for the seat, decided not to run - likely at least in part because of the district court ruling barring an open field of multiple major party candidates in favor of letting those two parties pick a single nominee. With an open field and allowing several Republican candidates, political observers gave Angle a good chance since her base has been very loyal.

"Current outcomes concerning the special election have made this election in Nevada an illegitimate process that disenfranchises the electorate," she said in a statement announcing she won't seek the party nomination.

A total of 15 Nevadans put their name in the mix the first day of filing.

The others are former Regent Nancy Price, George S. Bay, Zach A. Jones, Rex Ricks and Jacques Maye, all Democrats. Republicans Eric Hintermeyer, Daniel Miller and Sidney Grant Zeller along with independents Roland B. Lee, Earl Frank Ammerman and Helmuth Lehmann and Independent American Party nominee Tim Fasano.

Amodei, a lifelong Carson City resident, served one term in the Nevada Assembly and 12 years in the state Senate. He told a Republican women's group last weekend he has the experience and on issues important to the congressional district spanning most of rural Nevada such as natural resources and public lands. He said he also has a conservative voting record unmatched by anyone else in the race. He said he would be a voice for smaller government and reduced spending.

Marshall, in her second term as state treasurer, said she has been dealing with financial issues since her first election in 2006 and has provided a "steady hand" to shepherd the state treasury through the recession.

"I think we're still in this fiscal crisis in this country," she said. "I think they could use some fiscal expertise in Washington D.C."

As for whether the party should pick the major party nominee or filing should be open, Marshall said the real issue is who the voters want, that the process isn't up to her.

Brower touted his accomplishments in the Legislature as well as his experience with the federal Justice Department in Washington and as US. Attorney for Nevada. He said he agrees with Rep. Paul Ryan's attempts to reduce Medicaid spending.

"I think it's a step in the right direction," he said. "We have to aggressively move to reduce the debt."

But he stopped short of saying he would support that specific plan. He added that everything, including defense spending, has to be on the table in making federal spending cuts.

He said he can't speak to the Carson District court ruling giving the major parties the power to nominate their candidate for the special election.

Price said she believes Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat, was correct in saying filing should be open for major party candidates with the voters making the decision instead of the party central committee.

"I think the voters ought to decide," she said.

Price lost by some 30 points to Heller in the last general election but said her campaign was hurt by the fact she filed on the last day and suffered serious injuries in a car wreck the following day.

She said without an incumbent in the race, "this is a great opportunity."

Tim Fasano, the Independent American Party candidate, said his candidacy got a boost when Sharron Angle decided not to enter the race because her followers are much more likely to back him philosophically than a Republican or Democrat.

"I plan to engage the growing field of candidates by promoting my conservative mainstream values, by offering the voters in Congressional District 2 an alternative to the main political parties that currently dominate the political landscape."

Fasano's chances would be further improved if the Nevada Supreme Court reverses the district court and opens filing to multiple Republican and Democratic candidates instead of just the party nominee.

(AP) - An organizer now says three Republican candidates for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District House seat will debate next month in Reno.

Nevada Republican Assembly spokesman Paul Jackson tells The Associated Press that the 6 p.m. June 15 event will be held at the Boys and Girls Club in Reno despite the withdrawal of tea party-backed Sharron Angle.

The group is a conservative GOP organization unaffiliated with the state or county party.

Jackson says GOP chairman Mark Amodei, state Sen. Greg Brower and retired Navy Cmdr. Kirk Lippold are invited.

The state Republican Party central committee plans to meet three days later to pick a party nominee for the Sept. 13 special election in Dean Heller's former seat.

A lawsuit on how candidates are chosen is pending before the Nevada Supreme Court.