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An account of the
Jim Gibbons 2010 Campaign
In 2010, Jim Gibbons ran an
unsuccessful campaign for re-election in the Nevada gubernatorial
race. Prior to holding any elected office, Governor Gibbons was a
pilot for the U.S. Air Force in Vietnam as well as a private
practice attorney. He has also worked as a commercial pilot for the
private airlines Delta Air Lines and Western Airlines.
Mr. Gibbons began his political career in the Nevada State Assembly,
where he served between 1989 and 1993. While a member of the
Assembly, he was temporarily called to duty in the Gulf War. Gibbons
received a medal for his reconnaissance efforts in the war, and this
was just one of the nineteen different awards he received throughout
his military career.
This helped to make him an attractive candidate to republican voters
in the state, and in 1996 he was elected to Congress to be a member
of the House of Representatives. While serving in the House, he sat
on the Homeland Security Committee and the Armed Services Committee,
among others. He stayed at this position for eight years of his five
elected terms until he decided to step down and run for state
governor.
After successfully winning in
the primary, Gibbons took the general election by a margin of
278,984 to 255,675 – defeating his opponent, Democratic candidate
Dina Titus.
While governor, Gibbons experienced several legal troubles and was
involved in a number of scandals. In 2006, Gibbons set up a legal
defense fund which was meant to argue his case against accusations
of sexual assault against a waitress. It continued to serve as a
means for paying legal expenses in other cases, such as allegations
of illegally securing contracts for friends and companies in which
he had personal interests. There were also questions about his
personal employment of illegal immigrants, another legal expense
which the fund helped to pay for. Furthermore, when the fund was set
up it was not properly registered with the relevant authorities, and
there were several undeclared donations to the fund, which brought
further scrutiny to these matters.
In 2007, Governor Gibbons reportedly admitted to interfering with an
ongoing investigation, encouraging authorities to pursue criminal
charges against an individual who was involved in a dispute with one
of Gibbons’ friends. Also in 2007, an assessor that Gibbons used
while acquiring a new 40 acre ranch claimed the he felt pressured
into granting the governor a special tax write-off that is generally
reserved for farmers who intend to use the land for agriculture.
These, along with a publicly followed divorce and several other
minor incidents, lead to a steep decline in Gibbons popularity. In
2008, he received a 10% approval rating.
Governor Gibbons ran for reelection in 2010, this time
unsuccessfully. Unable to secure financial backing from the GOP, the
Governor was at a funding disadvantage from the start. Beginning
with a 17% likely voters rating in August, Gibbons brought his
polling numbers up to 27% in June, but it was not enough to beat his
opponent Brian Sandoval in the Republican primary election. He took
27% of the vote, which was just over half of the number of votes the
challenger received. Sandoval, a former federal judge and Nevada
Attorney General, went on to beat Democratic nominee Rory Reed by
11% of the popular vote.
Sandoval’s victory was part of the larger Republican surge that
swept through the country in the 2010 election. Though he did not
maintain close public ties with the Tea Party, Sandoval was also an
expression of widespread incumbent dissatisfaction that was constant
between both parties. The popular lack of approval for Gibbons’
performance while in office is comparable to what President Obama
experienced during the 2010 general election. With approval ratings
hovering around 45%, Obama faced the widespread republican wins in
both the Senate and the House.
Some were surprised to hear that Gibbons planned to run in the race,
as he was predicted early on to become the first sitting governor to
loose in a re-election campaign in the last century. Governor
Gibbons has since returned to his private practice law firm to
represent clients throughout Nevada. |
