Chad Christensen

This year ended with more of a bang than a whimper. Joseph Cooper has the races to watch here.

Getting a freebie this year are Democrat Valerie Wiener, and Republicans Dean Rhoads and Mike McGinness. All have safe seats.

In CD-1, Shelley Berkley may just pull this one off. With a spare 60,000 voter registration advantage you would think that she is safe, but the race still managed to attract seven GOP opponents. Seven. Must be the huge Republican surge that we're seeing nationwide that makes these guys think they have a chance with those odds.

This week's Winners & Losers are now posted.

Andrew Martin has to be floored at the irony.

A recap of the path this has taken:
Martin enters race for CD-3 against Jon Porter as self-funded gadfly. When establishment candidate withdraws, Martin is passed over for someone he won't run against, and switches to challenge Chad Christensen in order to give a green flag to Dina Titus for the clear CD-3 nod. He's a decent candidate against Christensen, but mostly because he can self-fund.

At the last minute, Christensen doesn't file, changing the game completely.

Assemblyman Chad Christensen.LAS VEGAS -- Jon Ralston is reporting in his RalstonFlash that Republican Assemblyman Chad Christensen has informed party leaders that he will not seek reelection.

Christensen has represented Assembly District 13 for three terms and would be challenged this year by former congressional candidate Andrew Martin.

With Democrats only one seat away from a veto-proof majority in the assembly, Christensen's retirement would put Republicans in the unenviable position of trying to defend three open Republican seats while contesting the same number of open Democratic seats. Christensen's district, like most Clark County seats, has been trending Democratic and now faces a nearly 1,400-vote Democratic advantage in registration.

Las Vegas accountant Andrew MartinHENDERSON-Andrew Martin will end his campaign for Congressional District 3 today, according to aides, and will instead challenge Republican Chad Christensen in the 13th Assembly District.

Martin, a Las Vegas-based accountant, announced for CD3 last year, but his campaign was largely overlooked by Democratic heavyweights U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rep. Shelley Berkley, Nevada Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in favor of former Clark County chief deputy district attorney Robert Daskas.

Immediately following Daskas' withdrawal from the race Monday, state and national Democrats began calling for Titus to run in his stead.  Titus' announcement is expected in minutes.

Protestors gather at two different sites in Las Vegas Tuesday.LAS VEGAS-About fifty people gathered at each of two sites in Las Vegas Tuesday to protest the federal income tax in one case and the costs of the continuing war in Iraq in the other.  Although different in purpose, the protests were similar in appearance with waving signs, chanting slogans and an inevitable slowdown in nearby traffic.

Anti-tax protest at "Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas" sign

"One hundred percent of the federal income tax goes toward the debt on the dollar," said Cody Cunningham, the 14-year-old organizer of the anti-tax protest.  "It doesn't go toward any services at all.  It doesn't go to roads or highways or anything."

Assembly candidate Donna Toussaint speaks to contributors during Tuesday fundraiserLAS VEGAS-Donna Toussaint, the Republican candidate to succeed Valerie Weber in the 5th Assembly District, hosted a fundraising event last night at Captain's Cove Lakeside Bistro in west Las Vegas. About fifty people attended, including several other legislative candidates and a smattering of elected officials.

"It takes a lot of money to run a campaign," said Toussaint to the assembled contributors. "I had no clue. I thought ‘okay, I have $2,000, I can run.' It doesn't work that way."