Amid efforts to anoint state Sen. Mark Hutchison for lieutenant governor, factions inside the always entertaining Nevada Republican Party are threatening to strike back against the GOP empire.
Whether this will be fodder to entertain pundits (I'm game) or just sound and fury will not be known until next year when filing arrives.
But you have two two palpable developments that indicate the natives are restless. And the natives can be a pain in the....
1. The Ron Paul folks are not happy about their leader (Cindy Lake) being ousted from the Clark County GOP. And the news that the Bunce Brothers -- Carl and Richard -- will be running in primaries against key GOP leaders (Michael Roberson and Lynn Stewart) will at least be an irritant and maybe more.
2. Other more mainstream (although not quite) Republicans are not happy that Gov. Brian Sandoval and Sen. Dean Heller are being quite Reid-like in trying anoint candidates up and down the ticket, with the help of their common operative, Mike Slanker, who ran Heller's campaign and will run Sandoval's next year. Some might say this is their role, seeing how well it worked for the disiciplined Democrats. Others, though, say there may be another slate.
One veteran GOP operative told me there may be an "anti-Slanker slate" in the consitutional offices and that some folks would love to see Hutchison run for attorney general to take on Democratic anointee Ross Miller (Not gonna happen. Wouldn't be prudent.)
"The anti Slanker slate will be very credible and legitimate names, how credible, or more specifically how much money, remains to be seen," the operative told me.
And this: "Will be an all out war, but unlike the Ron Paul days, a split between card carrying establishments people trying to...take back the establishment. And as you know, this is all less about 2014 and more about 2016, so get ready for the ride and potential out of state money being a factor."
I have a feeling the Sue Lowden candidacy against Hutchison is a manifestation of this phenomenon -- those not happy with the Sandoval/Heller anointment. This is not about gadflies, but can their buzz translate into action?
I still think it will be difficult for the insurgents to make inroads, especially when there are those who will appalud Sandoval and Heller, through Slanker and another common adviser, Pete Ernaut, for recruiting a solid ticket for the constitutional races. But nothing is ever easy in Nevada GOP politics.
So maybe this won't be such a boring year, after all. (The pundit said, hopefully.)
Amid efforts to anoint state Sen. Mark Hutchison for lieutenant governor, factions inside the always entertaining Nevada Republican Party are threatening to strike back against the GOP empire.
Whether this will be fodder to entertain pundits (I'm game) or just sound and fury will not be known until next year when filing arrives.
But you have two two palpable developments that indicate the natives are restless. And the natives can be a pain in the....
1. The Ron Paul folks are not happy about their leader (Cindy Lake) being ousted from the Clark County GOP. And the news that the Bunce Brothers -- Carl and Richard -- will be running in primaries against key GOP leaders (Michael Roberson and Lynn Stewart) will at least be an irritant and maybe more.
2. Other more mainstream (although not quite) Republicans are not happy that Gov. Brian Sandoval and Sen. Dean Heller are being quite Reid-like in trying anoint candidates up and down the ticket, with the help of their common operative, Mike Slanker, who ran Heller's campaign and will run Sandoval's next year. Some might say this is their role, seeing how well it worked for the disiciplined Democrats. Others, though, say there may be another slate.
One veteran GOP operative told me there may be an "anti-Slanker slate" in the consitutional offices and that some folks would love to see Hutchison run for attorney general to take on Democratic anointee Ross Miller (Not gonna happen. Wouldn't be prudent.)
"The anti Slanker slate will be very credible and legitimate names, how credible, or more specifically how much money, remains to be seen," the operative told me.
And this: "Will be an all out war, but unlike the Ron Paul days, a split between card carrying establishments people trying to...take back the establishment. And as you know, this is all less about 2014 and more about 2016, so get ready for the ride and potential out of state money being a factor."
I have a feeling the Sue Lowden candidacy against Hutchison is a manifestation of this phenomenon -- those not happy with the Sandoval/Heller anointment. This is not about gadflies, but can their buzz translate into action?
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