It's official: Oscar Goodman, the mayor of Las Vegas, will
NOT run in the Senate race. Here's the Las Vegas Review-Journal (no permalink):
Mayor Oscar Goodman said he will not seek the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, ending years of speculation among political insiders about the popular mayor's future.
"I love Las Vegas, I love being mayor of Las Vegas," Goodman said in an interview Wednesday with the Review-Journal. "I have a lot on my plate, I want to see it come to fruition, and I can only do that at home."
More below.
At the
Carter Campaign, we've always thought that he wouldn't run (see Dad's
interview with
MyDD's Jonathan Singer - he talks about Oscar a good bit; I diaried it
here). Some folks have been impatient with Oscar for not deciding earlier because it was hurting our fundraising. Local blogger Hugh Jackson at the Las Vegas Gleaner had a
post to that effect about a month ago. However, Dad was never very concerned about it - I guess he figured that anyone holding out to see what Oscar would do would come around after Oscar announced he was out. Here's more on what Dad has to say about Oscar's decision (from
the Las Vegas Sun):
Goodman called Democrat Jack Carter, his potential opponent for the party nomination, on Wednesday morning to put rumors to rest, said Carter, a Las Vegas investment consultant and the son of President Jimmy Carter.
"I said I thought he would have been a tough opponent and I was looking forward to his support," he said.
Carter said Goodman's decision doesn't change his strategy. When asked if he thought it might help convince some Democratic donors write checks for his campaign, he was unwavering.
"Lord, I hope so," he said.
The filing deadline is May 19, and no one else has expressed any interest in this race, so it appears that Dad will run unopposed in the primary.
John Ensign is a vulnerable incumbent. His approval ratings have been hovering near 50% for months. He votes with Bush so often (including 100% of the time in 2004) that Jackson (the Las Vegas Gleaner) has named him the "Stepford Senator." And, according to the recently-released 50-state SUSA polling, Bush's approval in Nevada is at 34% (the worst of all states who voted for him in 2004) and sinking quickly.
Early money will definitely help our campaign. We've got to get the word out that John Ensign is too conservative for this evenly-split state, and too Bush-hack-ish for independently-minded Nevadans. If you're one of those people who have been waiting to see about Oscar Goodman, now's a good time to jump on board.
Thanks for reading!
Sarah
Carter for Nevada