LAS VEGAS (AP) -- State Sen. Dina Titus led Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson by 18 percentage points with less than half the expected votes counted in Tuesday's Democratic primary race for governor.
In the Republican contest, early returns showed Reno U.S. Rep. Jim Gibbons leading state Sen. Bob Beers, an anti-tax advocate from Las Vegas, 46 percent to 32 percent, with Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt getting 18 percent of the 57,225 votes counted in the Republican primary.
Gibbons had 40 percent, to Beers' 36 percent of the votes counted in Clark County.
Election officials predicted the roughly 15 percent of registered voters who cast early or absentee votes to make up more than half of the total turnout. Voter turnout at the polls Tuesday was moderate.
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Nearly 70 percent of the early votes were cast in Clark County, a stronghold of support for Beers. Gibbons, long the front-runner, is expected to run strong in Washoe and rural counties.
The early return shows Titus with 54 percent of the vote, to Gibson's 36 percent of the 55,449 votes counted. In Washoe County, a key area for Gibson, Titus led by 23 percentage points in early returns.
The primary winners will fight to replace the popular term-limited Republican Gov. Kenny Guinn.