Las Vegas NowEx-GOP Chair Lowden Announces Bid for Senate

Ex-GOP Chair Lowden Announces Bid for Senate

The former leader of the state Republican Party in Nevada joined a growing list of candidates Thursday seeking to deny Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a fifth term.

Sue Lowden said she will file formal papers with the Federal Election Commission to officially enter the race.

Lowden, a former Nevada state senator and Miss America contestant in 1973, stepped down as the state party's chairwoman on Wednesday. Her decision was long anticipated.

Republicans in Nevada are lining up to face-off against Reid, though party leaders in Washington failed to get their top choice, Rep. Dean Heller, to enter the race.

The field includes state Sen. Mark Amodei, Reno attorney Chuck Kozak, Danny Tarkanian of Las Vegas, and former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle.

Republican officials believe the general election will become a referendum on Reid, who has fared poorly in recent polls taken in his home state. Still, Reid is assured the resources needed to run a strong campaign. He anticipates raising as much as $25 million for his re-election bid.

In her announcement, Lowden focused her comments and concerns on the growing role of the federal government in steering the economy and health care. She said Nevadans have grown weary of "an out-of-control federal government."

"Nevadans simply cannot afford this rapid and unaffordable expansion of federal spending and control," she said.

Democratic officials in Washington reacted to her announcement by focusing attention on Lowden's public statements about Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., after he admitted over the summer to having an extramarital affair with a former campaign staffer. At the time, Lowden said she viewed the matter as a personal issue and saw no reason for him to resign. She also later welcomed his efforts in the coming political campaign.

Lowden was elected to the Nevada State Senate in 1992, defeating Jack Vergiels, then the chamber's majority leader. She lost in the 1996 election.

She also has worked as an executive in the gaming industry. She and her husband sold the Sahara Hotel and Casino for $193 million, suggesting she'll have plenty of personal money available if she cares to use it to counter Reid's campaign contributions. Reid's camp said it was prepared.

"We'll be ready to run an aggressive campaign against whichever Republican candidate comes out of the primary," said Reid's campaign manager Brandon Hall.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)