New Reid competitors

The latest GOP names to surface in the guessing game over what Republican will oppose U.S. Sen. Harry Reid:

• Henrietta Holsman Fore, head of the Agency for International Development and former director of the U.S. Mint.

• U.S. Attorney Greg Brower, a former one-term state legislator from Washoe County.

• State Sen. Mark Amodei of Carson City, former director of the Nevada Mining Association.

Holsman Fore’s name appeared in Human Events, the conservative newspaper that once provided Ronald Reagan with an oversupply of inaccurate anecdotes that kept getting him in trouble.

Brower’s name was floated by a Washoe Republican Party functionary, Jim Clark, in the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza.

Amodei’s name surfaced because in the closing days of the legislature, his voting record suddenly veered right. He is term limited.

One of the most interesting comments accompanying these mentions was this one from Clark: “Grassroots Republicans smell blood in the water, but the Republican National Senatorial Committee is playing its cards close to the vest when it comes to naming a candidate to challenge Reid.”

The notion that local party members are waiting for party leaders in D.C. to pick Nevada candidates is something that afflicts both parties, but they don’t usually admit that it happens.

Brower, Holsman Fore, and Amodei have one advantage over New York investment banker John Chachas, who has talked of moving to Nevada to run against Reid. They all live in Nevada. Holsman Fore has homes in Nevada and D.C., and Brower’s office time is split between Reno and Las Vegas.