Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021 | 3:55 p.m.
Feuding factions of the Las Vegas-area Republican Party have emerged from separate meetings with slates of officers, but the head of the Nevada GOP said Wednesday that only one set will be seated at a statewide leadership meeting next month.
The Clark County Republican Central Committee headed by Jesse Law will be recognized at the Oct. 16 meeting in Winnemucca, said Michael McDonald, chief of the state Republican Party. Law is a former aide to the state GOP and former President Donald Trump’s Nevada campaign.
“The state party will seat Jesse’s slate, and we’ll move forward,” McDonald said. “It’s sad that it turned out this way.”
Law and McDonald pointed to a court order issued earlier in the day that dismissed a lawsuit from other party members claiming they were the legitimate leaders. Judge Susan Johnson in Las Vegas ruled that decisions about “matters of internal party management” would be left to party members, not the courts.
Law’s group is recognized by both the Republican National Committee and the state party, Law and McDonald said.
Law acknowledged that party members associated with the extremist Proud Boys were among the 500 people attending his meeting. He characterized the crowd as “a sea of diverse folks.”
The Proud Boys are a male-only group with a history of violent clashes with left-wing protesters. Trump cited the group during an October 2020 presidential campaign debate, and several Proud Boys have been charged with conspiracy and other crimes relating to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
Law predicted the eventual dissolution of the other GOP group, which drew about 100 people Tuesday to a virtual meeting that elected state Sen. Carrie Buck as chairwoman.
Ed Gonzalez, spokesman for that group, did not immediately respond Wednesday to telephone, text and email messages. The meeting was led by former Republican state Assemblyman Stephen Silberkraus.
“The Clark County Republican Party is at a tipping point,” Buck said in a statement reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Buck said she would focus on goals, accountability and making the county GOP “the most well-functioning political organization in the state.”
Before she was elected, Buck addressed party members about what she termed the “insurgency” from Law’s group.
