Candidate in Focus: Sharron Angle

Rep. Jim Gibbons is giving up his seat to run for governor...so Nevada's 2nd Congressional District is up for grabs in the GOP primary on August 15th. The victor will win the general (it's our seat; though the Rothenberg Political Report implies that the Dems may have an opporunity to pick it up; unlikely.). Let's take a brief look at the race, and a brief look at the real conservative candidate. Assemblywoman Sharron Angle, who's characterized by the media as "anti-tax,"and by Rothenberg as having "cool confidence and determination," is opposed by Assemblywoman Dawn Gibbons and NV Secretary of State Dean Heller...(click full post)

Rothenberg (in Roll Call) said that Angle "has built her reputation as an opponent of taxes, and she is going to ride that horse are far as it will take her. It may well take her to Capitol Hill."

While Gibbons did successfully pass Nevada's constitutional Tax Retraint Initiative, Angle is the only of the three that didn't budge in 2003 and fought against the ridiculous tax increase passed that year in Nevada ($788 million! -- which Gibbons voted for; Gibbons also opposes school choice by the way).

Angle has a very solid tax record and supports reductions in personal income tax, a cap on capital gains, abolition of the estate tax and alternative minimum tax, and a freeze on non-defense domestic spending. Her Angle Property Tax Restraint Initiative is like a property tax TABOR, aiming to cap property taxes. (The Club for Growth has endorsed her).

On other issues, Angle supports expanding refining in Nevada; having not built a new refinery in this country for 30+ years, Congress needs more vocal advocates in this regard. She's proved herself as anti-amnesty, and made a prudent and responsible vote against the Millennium Scholarship for doling out taxpayer dollars to foot the bill of non-citizens' college in Nevada.

Angle is the only satisfactorily pro-life candidate. (Explaining endorsements by National Right to Life, the Republican National Coalition for Life and Concerned Women for America).

Angle is in a in a close fund-race. Heller has raised a good deal of money, but because the campaign is not premited to use money from donations exceeding $2,100 in the primary, he can't use a lot of it in the primary; about $380,000 of his on-hand cash is discretionary in the primary. Gibbons is at around $261,000. Angle has $340,000 of cash on hand for the primary.

Angle is going to have a real tough race; Gibbons took an early lead. It's going to boil down to how well she can get her message out.