Nevada Secretary of State election, 2010

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In the Nevada Secretary of State election of 2010, held on November 2, 2010, Democratic incumbent Ross Miller defeated Republican challenger Rob Lauer and Independent American Party candidate John Wagner. Miller won with 53.17% of the overall vote.

None of the three candidates were opposed in the June 8 primary election.

General election

Results

2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election
Party		Candidate	Vote Percentage
	Democratic Party	a Ross Miller	53.2%
	Republican Party	Rob Lauer	37.3%
	American Independent Party	John Wagner	6.0%
	None of these candidates		3.6%
Total Votes			703,513

Finances

According to Follow the Money, the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates is as follows:

Nevada Secretary of State Campaign Finance
Candidate		Total Contributions
Ross Miller		$640,898
Rob Lauer		$190,845
John Wagner		$0

According to the Nevada Secretary of State, as of October 28, 2010, the following was the breakdown of campaign finances for each of the candidates:

Robert Lauer Campaign Finance Reports
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Contributions	In-Kind	Other Sources	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
May 28 - October 21, 2010		June 1, 2010	$36,224.70	$73,313.00	$0.00	$0.00	$20,808.64	$88,729.06

Ross Miller Campaign Finance Reports
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Contributions	In-Kind	Other Sources	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
May 28 - October 21, 2010		October 25, 2010	$83,249.29	$128,463.57	$1,672.43	$0.00	$269,915.11	($58,202.25)

Endorsements

Rob Lauer

• Can-Do Conservatives of America

Ross Miller

• Communications Workers of America (CWA)
• Las Vegas Police Protective Association (LVPPA)
• Nevada State AFL-CIO
• Nevada State Education Association (NSEA)
• North Las Vegas Police Officers Association (NLVPOA)
• Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce PAC
• Southern Nevada Conference of Police and Sheriffs (SNCOPS)

June 8, 2010 primaries

See also: Nevada gubernatorial election, 2010; Nevada Attorney General election, 2010

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Incumbent Ross Miller was unopposed in this contest, and the race did not appear on the primary ballot.

Finances

According to the Nevada Secretary of State, as of July 13, 2010, the following was the breakdown of campaign finances for Miller:

Ross Miller Campaign Finance Reports
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Contributions	In-Kind	Other Sources	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
January 1 - May 27, 2010		June 1, 2010	$0.00	$192,275.00	$20,178.80	$0.00	$109,025.71	$83,249.29

Republican primary

Candidates

• Small Business Owner and American soldier Robert "Rob" Lauer was unopposed in this contest, and the race did not appear on the primary ballot.

Finances

According to the Nevada Secretary of State, as of July 13, 2010, the following was the breakdown of campaign finances for Lauer:

Robert Lauer Campaign Finance Reports
Report		Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Contributions	In-Kind	Other Sources	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
January 1 - May 27, 2010		June 1, 2010	$0.00	$41,591.96	$75,000.00	$0.00	$5,367.26	$36,224.70

Polling

Mason-Dixon poll

Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc. surveyed 625 registered voters from across Nevada between August 23 and 25, 2010.

Mason-Dixon Poll - August 23 – 25, 2010
Candidates		Percentage
Ross Miller (D)		41%
Rob Lauer (R)		27%
Another party candidate		3%
None of these candidates		11%
Undecided		18%
Total voters		625

Suffolk University Poll

Suffolk University Poll - October 8 – 11, 2010
Candidates		Percentage
Ross Miller (D)		40%
Rob Lauer (R)		24%
John Wagner (IAP)		9%
None of these candidates		3%
Undecided		24%
Total voters		500

Noteworthy events

Assault charge

In early-June 2010, an incident occurred at Stoney’s Rockin’ Country bar on South Las Vegas Boulevard in which Lauer was accused of battery by Jennifer Von Tobel, a professional fundraiser for nonprofit organizations and political campaigns. Von Tobel claimed that the trouble began when, late in the evening, Lauer put his hands on her shoulders and offered to show her a self-defense move he had learned in the military; she refused. In spite of her protests, he grabbed her wrists and "as a result she sustained injuries to both her wrists and right shoulder," according to her statement in the report issued by the Las Vegas Metro Police Department that evening.

Lauer denied the allegation, countering that Von Tobel had been drinking extensively that night. Furthermore, he said that the only time he put his hands on her was to remove her hands after she had "put [them] on his shoulders, close to his neck, and then in a second instance attempted to put him in a headlock." Von Tobel insisted, however, that that would be impossible for her given that she had been suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory disease that can cause muscle weakness and fatigue, for nearly ten years at the time.

A court summons was issued in late-July that "ordered [Lauer] to appear in court on August 24 to face the misdemeanor battery charge." The summons also stated that video surveillance taken from the bar the night of the incident confirmed Von Tobel's story. If convicted, Lauer could face "a maximum of 6 months in jail and a fine of $1,000."

The result of the lawsuit is unknown at this time.

Ethics complaint

The Republican Party of Nevada filed a complaint against both Secretary of State Ross Miller and State Treasurer Kate Marshall accusing the state government officials of improperly using "publicly funded web pages, phone lines and state employees for their respective re-election campaigns." The chairman of the State GOP said that both candidates violated Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapter 281A, which stated that a public officer or employee was “prohibited from requesting or otherwise causing governmental entity to incur expense or make expenditure to support or oppose ballot question or candidate in certain circumstances.” The complaint said that both Miller and Marshall listed their state government phone numbers and email addresses on each of their campaign websites and on their financial disclosure reports. About a month later, however, the Nevada Commission on Ethics dismissed the issue claiming there was no just or sufficient cause found to proceed to a full commission hearing.

Lawsuits

Legal problems in Las Vegas, Southern California as well as Florida are dogging Nevada business owner Rob Lauer as he attempts to launch his bid for the secretary of state. Most of Republican candidate's problems stem directly from a lawsuit filed in San Bernardino County, California by Florida resident John Gruber that alleges that Lauer ripped him off over an aircraft he purchased from him on eBay in 2006. Gruber claims that the 1979 Piper Archer II he purchased from Lauer was described as "completely refurbished," when, in reality, the aerial vehicle had "missing parts, damage from a possible hard landing, and more usage of the plane than was disclosed in the logbooks."

Lauer dismissed the complaint, arguing that he had “probably bought and sold dozens and dozens of aircraft and trucks and engines and all sorts of stuff. Probably 100 and if we have a dispute over one aircraft or two, I don’t think that is unrealistic in business nowadays.” The case, which was set to go before a San Bernardino County Superior Court on June 21, was reportedly dismissed after it was discovered Gruber lied on his police report about Gruber’s knowledge of the condition of the airplane. Lauer has since pursued Gruber legally for committing perjury, this according to the Secretary of State candidate at a debate held in mid-October 2010.

A second suit filed in late-December 2009 states that a company called T. Graham Capital LLC purchased a 1971 Hawker Siddeley from Lauer in July 2009 for $65,000. It was only after they had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars refurbishing the vehicle that they discovered that the plane had never been owned by Lauer's company, Aero Network of French Valley, Inc. Lauer insists, however, that "the dispute is over old liens against the aircraft that he is close to clearing, which he said would resolve the dispute."

The Nevada Secretary of State candidate is also dealing with a third lawsuit, this one filed in the United States District Court in California's Central District. David L. Degeer states that Lauer owes him back rent for storage of a truck in New Mexico. Lauer claims that he sought to break his lease under the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act, which allows members of the military leeway to modify debt, terminate leases, and postpone legal proceedings while on active duty. Court documents, however, state that Lauer never properly notified Degeer of his activation, as required under the law. Lauer insists he sent the notification through certified mail, but does not possess the receipt for it.

External links

• List of candidates qualified for Nevada's June 8 Secretary of State primary
• Green Paper's list of candidates for Nevada Secretary of State, 2010

General Election candidates

• Ross Miller 2010 Campaign website
• Rob Lauer for Nevada Campaign website