Key Players in the Special Session

As lawmakers try to reach agreement on a budget-balancing plan during the 26th special session of the Nevada Legislature, several key players will determine the final outcome.

Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas

Horsford showed in the 2009 session that he will both take on Gov. Jim Gibbons and work with Republicans. Horsford, 36, the first black majority leader and the youngest, vows to fight unless the governor signs on to his effort to find as much as $400 million in new revenue to reduce cuts to education and social services.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno

At 84, Raggio remains the Republican leader in the Senate and the most respected politician in Northern Nevada. In recent weeks, he has been the most outspoken legislator in his criticism of Gibbons. In particular, Raggio blasted the Republican governor for blaming the state's budget problems on the Legislature.

Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas

Although unable to run for another term under the term-limits law, Buckley won't be a lame duck at the special session. She showed in 2009 that on virtually every controversial issue she could deliver all 28 Democrats to override Gibbons' vetoes. Buckley, who decided against a gubernatorial run this year, often advocates for the poor and children.

Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera, D-Las Vegas

With Buckley leaving at the end of the year, Oceguera probably will be speaker in the 2011 session, one in which even greater budget cuts or tax increases might be necessary. He showed he can work with Republicans on cost-cutting in the 2009 session. That might be even more critical in this special session.

Assembly Minority Leader Heidi Gansert, R-Reno

As the minority in the Assembly, Republicans cannot pass any bills on their own . Gansert has been generally supportive of Gibbons, while trying to keep a caucus that features six members who are more enthusiastic about the governor. She's facing a GOP leadership battle with Assemblyman John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, one of the six .

Gov. Jim Gibbons

Republican Gibbons and Democratic legislators have been feuding ever since he announced his candidacy in 2006. You might hate him, but unlike the legislators who attack him every day, Gibbons has put together a plan that covers the $887 million without increasing taxes, at least in his mind. But the $50 million he wants from mining, which limits deductions, looks like a tax to his critics.