With Election Day 24 days out, NVGOP legislative candidates are doubling down on their extreme and out of touch agenda.
MAGA Republican candidates for the state legislature are running from the NVGOP Assembly and Senate caucuses’ record of opposing legislation that would have lowered the cost of housing and prescription drugs for hardworking families, guaranteed school meals for all public school students, and made our communities safer by cracking down on untraceable, unregulated weapons known as ghost guns. Legislative Democrats passed bills focused on the kitchen table issues that matter most to Nevada families; unfortunately, these bills were among Joe Lombardo’s record-breaking 75 vetoes.
From dodging tough questions to attempting to hide their extreme agenda to prioritizing Lombardo and special interests over hardworking Nevada families, see NVGOP legislative candidates’ out-of-touch plan for Nevadans below:
Nevada Current: Both parties like their chances in ‘purple’ Assembly District 4
Key points:
- Cole is the vice president of Land Development Associates, an industrial design and permitting and project management firm whose notable projects include developments within the Apex Industrial Park in North Las Vegas.
- During an interview with Las Vegas HEALS Podcast in August, Cole said people connected with Gov. Joe Lombardo approached her about running for office because they were “looking for someone to endorse in the AD 4 race.”
- “I got a call basically from the governor saying …‘hey, would you be willing to run for office?’” Cole told the interviewer.
- During the HEALS podcast, Cole said if elected she would be able to minimize bureaucratic obstacles faced by corporate developers such as the issues she faced when developing Apex.
- As a legislator she said it would be “an amazing opportunity to fix problems not just for my clients on one offs on their projects but try to roll back some of the red tape” and address issues faced by developers “on a much bigger scale.”
- Cole reiterated her position on her website saying that one of the priorities if elected is to look at ways the state could “streamline the right-of-way process at significant projects in Nevada like the Apex Industrial Park.”
Nevada Current: ‘Average Nevadan’ defending state Senate seat from Republican with potent name recognition
Key points:
- On her website, [SD-11 candidate Lori] Rogich touts herself as a “newcomer to the political arena.”
- Rogich is the wife of Sig Rogich, a former campaign adviser for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush, as well as Sen. John McCain during his 2008 presidential campaign. Sig Rogich also served as a White House adviser and was appointed U.S. Ambassador to Iceland during the administration of the elder Bush.
- [Dallas Harris] said her opponent can’t just “decide you want to buy your way into the state Senate.”
Nevada Current: Republican has enjoyed fundraising advantage in bid to flip Assembly seat
Key points:
- In [AD-35 candidate Rebecca Edgeworth’s] emailed reply to questions, Edgeworth did not directly address whether she supported the governor’s vetoes of health care legislation.“I believe that the current programs in place do provide essential access to quality healthcare for children and communities in need,” she said. “I am always open to reviewing data or evidence that suggests otherwise.”
Nevada Current: Assemblywoman hopes to keep seat in Republican hands, for Lombardo
Key points:
- [Heidi Kasama AD-2] said that Gov. Joe Lombardo reached out and said “it would serve Nevada better if I stayed in Assembly District 2 to support the governor.”
- As a long-time resident of AD 2, Nelsen said he wasn’t happy with how Kasama has voted against a variety of issues like the bill that authorized funding for universal free breakfast and lunch and legislation that offered eviction protections.
Nevada Current: Democrat looks to buck Republican incumbent in competitive Senate District 5
Key points:
- Democrats have also attacked [SD-5 incumbent Carrie] for asking in an early morning social media post, “How do any Jewish Americans continue to support the Democrat party?”
- Democrats have characterized it as a “dangerous antisemitic trope” that suggests Jewish Americans have dual loyalties to the U.S. and to Israel.
- “This is the same person who equated the right to choose with the atrocities committed by Nazis—a comparison that is both historically ignorant and deeply offensive,” said Atlas, who is Jewish, in a statement. “To imply that Jewish people cannot support the Democratic Party because we are guided by our moral compass, love of justice, and dedication to equality, is beyond insulting.
- Atlas was referring to a 2023 social media post where Buck explained her opposition to Senate Joint Resolution 7, which proposes enshrining in the state constitution a “fundamental right to reproductive freedom.”
- “I can’t imagine ripping a baby limb from limb out of his/her mother based on a test,” [Buck] wrote. “I think Hitler did that in his reign.”
The Nevada Independent: On the Record: Assembly District 29 candidates Annette Dawson Owens and Joe Dalia
Key point:
- Although the Republican candidate didn’t offer a clear yes or no about whether the state should expand existing abortion protections, she said she understands when “health” or “the situation” call for an abortion.
The Nevada Independent: On the Record: Assembly District 25 candidates Selena La Rue Hatch and Diana Sande
Key points:
- Sande has faced questions about her ties to lobbyists in the Legislature. Her father-in-law is a retired lobbyist, and her brother-in-law, John Sande IV, is a lobbyist with Argentum Partners. When asked whether the two would influence her decision-making as a legislator, Sande said they would not.
- But she said she would not be voting for Question 6 because state law already protects abortion rights and the ballot measure doesn’t have clear language. For example, Sande said the ballot measure changes the 24-week limit to “fetal viability” and would allow qualified medical professionals to offer abortion services. While the proposed constitutional amendment does not directly define “qualified health care practitioner,” the term typically refers to a broader subset of health care providers that includes registered nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners or midwives, as well as physicians. Under current Nevada law, only a physician can offer abortion services.
- Sande did not give a direct yes or no answer to a question about whether she would support the broader constitutional amendment that is going before the Legislature in 2025.
The Nevada Independent: On the Record: Assembly District 37 candidates Shea Backus and David Brog
Key point:
- Brog said maintaining Lombardo’s veto power is the main reason he decided to run.
The Nevada Independent: On the Record: Senate District 15 candidates Angie Taylor and Mike Ginsburg
Key points:
- Ginsburg, however, noted that “IVF is not at risk in Nevada, and I believe the government should not find solutions in search of a problem.”
- He did not say whether he would change or expand Nevada’s existing abortion protections.
- Ginsburg said he needed more time before addressing questions about whether Nevada should fund abortion services through Medicaid or if the state should fund crisis pregnancy centers or nonprofit organizations that provide counseling and other prenatal services from an anti-abortion perspective.
- [Mike Ginsburg] said he has fears about food waste for kids who don’t need the lunches. Food service officials have pushed back on claims that students from affluent families are taking lunches and then discarding them at high rates.
- He said he would support halting automatic voter registration and ending the practice of sending mail ballots to virtually all Nevada voters.
- Ginsburg did not say whether he would support or oppose Medicare-negotiated drug price caps.
The Nevada Independent: On the Record: Assembly District 4 candidates Lisa Cole and Ryan Hampton
Key point:
- Cole, meanwhile, said she is “neutral” on AB250, which did not receive any Republican support in the Legislature last year.
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