Richard Brian / Special to the Sun
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford takes questions from the Las Vegas Sun during an interview at Ford’s office at the Grant Sawyer Building Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. A “Republicans for Ford” organizing committee is backing the Democrat’s reelection bid against the GOP nominee, Sigal Chattah.
Sunday, July 31, 2022 | 2 a.m.
Some notable Republicans in Nevada are supporting Democratic candidates over those in their own party in November’s midterm elections.
The most significant movement came last week with the forming of the “Republicans for Ford” organizing committee to back Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford’s reelection against the Republican nominee Sigal Chattah. The committee includes the likes of Senate Republican Leader Michael Roberson and former state GOP chairwoman Amy Tarkanian.
Tarkanian has also endorsed Treasurer Zach Conine’s run for reelection over Republican Michele Fiore.
Additionally, incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., has been endorsed by Ely Mayor Nathan Robertson, former Winnemucca Mayor Di An Putnam and former Churchill County Commissioner Carl Erquiaga — all Republicans — in her race against GOP nominee Adam Laxalt.
“I am a Republican, but Catherine has earned our support in rural Nevada by blocking new taxes on our mining industry and supporting funding for local infrastructure needs,” Robertson said in a statement announcing his backing. “I know she will continue to work hard in the Senate to champion issues important to all rural Nevadans.”
The “Republicans for Ford” endorsement reminded UNLV political science expert David Damore of what happened in 2010 when a group of Republicans from the business, entertainment, sports and political sectors created “Republicans for Reid,” becoming a big part of the late Sen. Harry Reid’s reelection campaign.
The group spread effective messaging to Republican voters that his opponent Sharon Angle was “so far out of the mainstream that many prominent Republicans they had supported for years felt that Nevada would be better served by reelecting Reid,” Damore said in an email.
The messaging and intent of the “Republicans for Ford” is right out of that playbook, Damore said.
“If the effort is backed with significant media, then it can make a difference given the large number of nonpartisans and new residents to the state who may be less knowledgeable about the state’s politics and may be looking for easy information cues to inform their votes,” Damore wrote in the email. “Still, in an era of heightened partisan polarization it is surprising.”
For decades, a moderate bipartisan coalition has governed Nevada, Damore said, and while that is still the case with the state’s congressional delegation, the “rightward track of the GOP in Nevada continues to create fissures between the establishment and activist wings.”
Those same forces are at work in Nevada’s Democratic Party, Damore said, but they are less salient because many of the Democratic incumbents were not challenged in their primaries.
There don’t seem to be many Democrats, however, that are endorsing Republican candidates, even though more Democrats are switching to the Republican Party than vice versa.
Courtney Holland, communications director for Laxalt’s campaign, noted in a statement to the Sun, “Across the state, thousands of Democrats have and continue to switch their party registration to Republican.”
Governor promotes weatherization program
Gov. Steve Sisolak last week toured HELP of Southern Nevada, which assists people in overcoming barriers and being self-sufficient through different resources and services, to discuss the weatherization program as part of the Nevada Climate Series 2022.
Nevada applied for $24 million in Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act funds to expand the weatherization program to help more residents save money on utility bills, the governor’s office reported.
The weatherization assistance program is available to homeowners and renters whose household brings inless than 150% of the federal poverty rate. A family of four earning less than $41,625 annually would be eligible, according to the federal government.
Sisolak’s climate series aims to increase awareness of the effects of climate change and ensure that Nevadans have the resources they need to make their homes weatherized during extreme weather. Visitbit.ly/3JfXYHi for tips on how to save on utilities.
“As climate change continues to have negative impacts on our communities, it’s critical we provide Nevadans with the tools they need to mitigate the effects,” Sisolak said in a statement.
Sisolak met two elderly women at HELP of Southern Nevada who had help weatherizing their homes. For instance Lupita Donoho, an 86-year-old woman, was referred to HELP of Southern Nevada when her heat stopped working right before Thanksgiving last year, and an eligibility specialist helped her get a new unit, according to the statement from the governor’s office.
Nevadans in D.C.
U.S. Sens. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Gary Peters, D-Mich., last week introduced the Federal Data Center Enhancement Act of 2022, which aims to help federal agencies have secure and reliable data facilities that are safe from cyberattacks, natural disasters and terrorist attacks, according to a statement from Rosen’s office.
The proposed legislation would require the Office of Management and Budget to coordinate a governmentwide effort to develop minimum requirements for the federal data centers, facilities where federal agencies store important data and host key IT and cybersecurity infrastructure.
“With the increasing threat of cyberattacks and natural disasters, we must ensure the integrity of our nation’s critical information by protecting data centers like Switch in Las Vegas,” Rosen, a member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said in a statement. “This bipartisan bill will enact a new set of security and resiliency standards to keep our data safe.”
Additionally, the U.S. Senate and House passed the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which aims to reassert the country’s scientific dominance and economic independence, Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., said in a statement.
The legislation will provide $52 billion in subsidies to domestic semiconductor manufacturers and $100 billion in authorizations over five years for programs to expand the National Science Foundation’s research and to establish technology hubs that will support start-ups throughout the country.
“This is a vital piece of legislation as semiconductor chips are used in everything from vehicles, cellphones, medical equipment, and military weapons to slot machines in Las Vegas casinos,” Titus said in a statement. “This bill is not just about making the U.S. more competitive globally but also bolstering our vital industries domestically and creating good-paying jobs.”
“The computer chip shortage we’ve experienced recently in the United States has impacted nearly every industry and increased costs for Nevadans,” Rosen, who led and supported some of the provisions in the Senate’s legislation, said in a statement.
Countdown
Days to Nov. 8 midterms: 100.
