Gibbons will celebrate 'win or lose' after primary

Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons plans to celebrate, win or lose, after next week's Republican primary although his preference is another term in the Governor's Mansion, he said Thursday.

"I plan to be the next governor," he said during an interview on KRNV-TV's "Nevada Newsmakers."

He added, however, that he was prepared to welcome new challenges and opportunities that would come with defeat.

"If you lose, you get to do what you've always wanted to do. Take your talents and go do something else," he said. "I've never been held back by fear or a regret. So I don't look at this election as being the termination of any part of my life."

Polls have shown Gibbons trailing GOP front-runner Brian Sandoval by double digits.

"There's only one real poll that counts," Gibbons said. "That's the one on Tuesday, June 8."

Gibbons, 65, also trails in campaign fundraising, but dismissed any suggestion that puts him at a disadvantage.

"I personally have all the money I need to run the kind of campaign I want," he said.

In his latest campaign finance report, Gibbons reported $179,000 in contributions and $184,000 in expenses during the first five months of this year. Last year he reported a total $165,000 raised, a sharp contract to the $6 million he had for his first gubernatorial run four years ago.

Sandoval's campaign says it will report just shy of $1 million so far this year. A former federal judge who resigned his lifetime appointment in September to run for Nevada's highest office, Sandoval reported amassing nearly $1 million in his first three months as a candidate.

Democratic front-runner Rory Reid reported raising almost $1 million during the latest reporting period. Campaign reports show he's raised a combined $4.4 million for the race.

Gibbons was hurt by a tumultuous first term that included a nasty public divorce and allegations of infidelity.

The state's political power brokers abandoned him, and strategists recruited Sandoval to challenge Gibbons for the nomination.

In his filing, former North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon, who also is seeking the Republican nod, reported $80,000 in contributions, including a $20,000 loan to himself. He listed $114,000 in expenses.

Montandon, who has been running a distant third in the polls, had $306,000 in contributions and $274,000 in expenses last year.