Wrong Way Laxalt
Nevadans deserve a governor focused on driving the state forward with a jobs-focused agenda.
That’s not Adam Laxalt.
Wrong Way Laxalt would take Nevada on a hard-right turn — pursuing a right-wing ideology to reward his political cronies.
Instead of moving Nevada forward, Adam Laxalt would move Nevada in the wrong direction. He would restrict Nevadans’ access to health care, cut funding for public schools, eliminate renewable energy jobs, and undermine LGBTQ equality. As Attorney General, he used his office for political grandstanding and protecting his big money donors.
Adam Laxalt might be the right candidate for right-wing special interests, but he is the Wrong Way for Nevada families.
Dragging Nevada to the Right
It’s no secret Adam Laxalt wants to drag the state of Nevada to the right. As Attorney General, he routinely defied public opinion and even his own party to push an ideological agenda that’s bad for Nevada’s families and economy. From advocating for rolling back Nevadans’ access to affordable health care, to fighting to slash funding for Nevada public schools¹ and kill renewable energy jobs,² Laxalt would hurt Nevada families in pursuit of his far-right agenda.
Not Standing Up for Nevadans’ Health Care
Laxalt Said He Opposed the Affordable Care Act. According to his 2014 Campaign Issue Page, “That’s why I oppose Obamacare…As attorney general I will join the fight against Obamacare and defend our state from other examples of federal overreach.” [Laxalt Issue Page, Protecting Freedoms, May 2014]
While Other Republicans Stood Up Against Congressional Health Care Bills, Laxalt Stayed Silent. According to the Nevada Independent, “The group is launching digital video ads on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube starting Wednesday pounding Laxalt for not taking a position on the GOP’s health care efforts in DC.” [Nevada Independent, 6/28/17]
In July 2017, Gov. Sandoval Opposed Repeal Over Scale Back of Medicaid Expansion Program That Covered 210,000 Additional Nevadans. According to the New York Times, “Gov. Brian Sandoval of Nevada, who at the moment may be the most pivotal figure in the health care debate, said he had ‘great concerns’ with the legislation, and all but declared that he could not support any bill that would scale back Nevada’s Medicaid program. His decision to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act had been ‘a winner for the people of our state,’ he said of the government health insurance program for poor and disabled people.” [New York Times, 7/14/17]
- Throughout 2017, Laxalt Would Not Take a Position on Health Care Repeal Bills. According to the Nevada Independent, “Attorney General Adam Laxalt isn’t formally in the governor’s race yet, but the Democratic Governor’s Association isn’t waiting for the announcement The group is launching digital video ads on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube starting Wednesday pounding Laxalt for not taking a position on the GOP’s health care efforts in DC.” [Nevada Independent, 6/28/17]
Under Senate Health Care Repeal Bill, Nevada Would Have Seen Increase of 78% in Uninured Rate, Lost 48% of Its Federal Funding, and Had Premiums Increase 73% Higher Than the ACA. [Washington Post, 6/30/17]
Under Graham-Cassidy, Nevada Would Have Seen a Net Reduction of 243,000 in Health Insurance Coverage. [Center for American Progress, 9/20/17]
Hurting Public Education
Laxalt Vowed to Repeal Education Funding Plan GOP Legislature Passed in 2015. According to the Nevada Independent, “Although the Issues page on the site has been removed, it revealed some of his closely held policy priorities, including: He said he wants to repeal the Commerce Tax — a business tax based on gross revenue over $4 million — passed in 2015, a measure he opposed at the time but that his unofficial running mate, then-Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, was instrumental in shepherding through the Republican-controlled Legislature.” [Nevada Independent, 10/9/17]
In October 2017, Sandoval Said Laxalt’s Plan to Repeal Education Funding Stream Would “Irreversibly and Permanently Harm” Children, Public Education, and Nevada’s Business Climate. According to the Nevada Independent, “Gov. Brian Sandoval said Monday a proposal by incipient gubernatorial candidate Adam Laxalt to repeal his signature achievement would ‘irreversibly and permanently harm’ children, public education and the state’s business climate.” [Nevada Independent, 10/10/17]
- Sandoval: “I Think It Is Going to Hurt Kids. I Think It Is Going to Hurt Teachers. I Think It Is Going to Hurt Parents.” According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Gov. Brian Sandoval said Tuesday he disagrees with Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s proposal to eliminate the commerce tax. Sandoval responded to a report in the Nevada Independent that Laxalt, expected to announce a bid for governor in coming weeks, wants to repeal the levy sought by Sandoval and approved with some Republican support in 2015. ‘I think it is going to hurt kids. I think it is going to hurt teachers. I think it is going to hurt parents,’ he said in response to a question after the Board of Examiners meeting. ‘It would hurt our K-through- 12 system.’” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/10/17]
- Sandoval Pointed to Record Employment and Low Unemployment Since Recession, “It Has Not Hurt Our Ability To Recruit Great Companies To This State.” According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, “Sandoval said the tax on businesses with gross revenues that exceed $4 million annually will bring in $391 million over the current two-year budget, every dollar of which is going directly to public education from Zoom schools to autism programs. Nevada has the highest level of employment in the history of the state and unemployment is the lowest since the recession, he said. ‘It has not hurt our ability to recruit great companies to this state,’ Sandoval said. ‘The companies have said they thought it was good that it is all going to the benefit of their employees and their families. Certainly they want a good education system because that translates into a strong workforce.’” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 10/10/17]
Killing Clean Energy Jobs
Las Vegas Business Press Headline: Nevada AG Laxalt Opposes New EPA Rules on Power Plants.” [Las Vegas Business Press, 2/24/16]
- Sandoval Aide: “The Governor Did Not Request The Filing.” According to the Associated Press, “Nevada’s attorney general is endorsing a multi-state legal fight against President Barack Obama’s plan to curtail greenhouse gas emissions with an opinion that says states have a right to decide pollution emission standards for themselves. Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s friend-of-the-court filing in the case involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan was characterized by Gov. Brian Sandoval’s office as a fellow Republican ‘simply offering his legal opinion.’ ‘The governor did not request the filing,’ Sandoval aide Mari St. Martin said.” [Associated Press, 2/28/16]
Under Clean Power Plan, Nevada Was “Expected to Achieve the Target Without Difficulty.” According to the Las Vegas Business Press, “Called the Clean Power Plan, the rules limit carbon dioxide production starting in 2022 with the final goal in Nevada in 2030 of 855 pounds per megawatt hour. Nevada is expected to achieve the target without difficulty, achieving a level of 578 pounds of carbon dioxide by that year by one estimate.” [Las Vegas Business Press, 2/14/16]
Nevada Would Lose 4,400 Jobs and $300 Million in Future Economic Repeal of Clean Power Plan. According to a report by Environmental Entrepreneurs E2, under the Clean Power Plan, by 2013, Nevada would create 4,400 jobs and $300 million in GDP value added (in 2012 dollars). [Lost Opportunity: How Rolling Back the Clean Power Plan Harms America’s Economy, 6/21/17]
- On a Per-Capita Basis, Nevada was Second in the Country in Solar Jobs. According to Renewable Energy World, “On solar, California still leads the pack even on a per capita basis, with solar accounting for 9.3 out of every 1,000 jobs. Nevada is a close second, with 8.9 out of every 1,000 jobs in solar energy.” [Renewable Energy World, Department of Energy 2017 Employment Report, 4/13/17]
Grandstanding Far-right Ideologue
Adam Laxalt’s policies put him far outside the mainstream in Nevada. Instead of fighting for Nevada families, Laxalt has spent his entire career pushing fringe opinions on social issues. Laxalt opposed marriage equality in Nevada³, supported discriminating against LGBTQ members of the Armed Forces,⁴ and would restrict women’s access to health care.⁵ His far-right social policies will kill jobs in Nevada.
Opposing Marriage Equality
Las Vegas Sun Headline: “AG Candidate Laxalt Says He’d Fight to Uphold Gay Marriage Ban.” [Las Vegas Sun, 2/12/14]
Supporting Discrimination in the Armed Forces
Adam Laxalt National Review Op-Ed Headline: “An End to ‘Don’t Ask’? [National Review, Laxalt, 10/6/10]
Laxalt Believed “Permitting Homosexuals to Serve Openly” would “Making Fighting Harder” for Servicemen and Women. According to a Laxalt Op-Ed in the National Review, “Adding a new layer of sexual and social relations — which I presume, perhaps unfairly, is what permitting homosexuals to serve openly is all about — would make fighting wars harder. There really is no question about that.” [National Review, Laxalt, 10/6/10]
Undermining Women’s Health
In May 2014, Laxalt Said He Opposed the Affordable Care Act. According to his 2014 Campaign Issue Page, “That’s why I oppose Obamacare…As attorney general I will join the fight against Obamacare and defend our state from other examples of federal overreach.” [Laxalt Issue Page, Protecting Freedoms, May 2014]
Repeal of the Affordable Care Act Could Result in Higher Premiums for Women and Increase Preventative Services for Women. According to CBS News, “From a return to higher premiums for women to gaps in coverage for birth control and breast pumps, the Republican push to repeal the Obama-era health care law already is raising concerns that women could be hit hard. The 2010 law ended a common industry practice of charging women more than men for policies purchased directly from an insurer. It made maternity and newborn care a required benefit for individual market health plans. And it set a list of preventive services to be provided at no extra cost to women, including birth control and breast pumps used by nursing mothers. That preventive care requirement also applies to most employer plans, which serve a majority of U.S. adults.” [CBS News, 2/2/17]
- The Affordable Care Act Had “Made Significant Improvements” on Women’s Health. According to CBS News, “Ranji says the health law made significant improvements on women’s health. Before the law:
- Pregnancy, a prior cesarean-section, a history of domestic violence, or problems with depression could be deemed a pre-existing condition, triggering restrictions on coverage or higher premiums.
- About one-third of plans on the individual insurance market charged women between the age of 25–40 premiums at least 30 percent higher than men of the same age.
- Only about 12 percent of plans were available directly to individuals, included maternity care.
- About 20 percent of women of childbearing age covered by large employers spent some of their own money on birth control pills. Currently it’s fewer than 4 percent.” [CBS News, 2/2/17]
Protecting Far-Right Donors and Special Interest Insiders
There’s only one group of people Adam Laxalt truly looks out for: His special interest backers and far-right donors. Earlier this year, Laxalt was caught on tape using his taxpayer-funded office to try to intervene in a lawsuit involving a business owned by his largest donor: Sheldon Adelson.⁶ A tape of his actions was turned over to the FBI at the recommendation of another Republican, and he was called to testify before a bipartisan group of lawmakers about his behavior. Former attorneys general spoke out against Laxalt’s behavior.
In February 2017, Nevada’s Top Gaming Regulator Recorded a Conversation with Laxalt and Turned It Over to the FBI — Laxalt Had Approached the Regulator About Interceding in a Lawsuit on Behalf of Sheldon Adelson, Laxalt’s Biggest Donor. According to the Nevada Independent, “Nevada’s chief gaming regulator surreptitiously recorded a conversation with Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who approached him about interceding in a lawsuit on behalf of his biggest donor and Nevada’s wealthiest casino magnate, Sheldon Adelson, The Nevada Independent has learned. Gaming Control Board Chairman A.G. Burnett subsequently turned the recording over to the FBI.” [Nevada Independent, 2/15/17]
Lawmakers Held Hearing Over Laxalt’s Transgressions
Nevada Independent Headline: “Lawmakers Schedule Wednesday Hearing For Bill Inspired By Laxalt-Burnett Secret Recording; Laxalt Fears ‘Partisan Ambush’” [Nevada Independent, 5/15/17]
Gov. Sandoval’s General Counsel Recommended Burnett’s Recording Be Turned Over to FBI
Burnett Said He Turned Over the Recording to His Technology Division and Consulted With Gov. Sandoval’s General Counsel, Who Recommended It Be Turned Over to the FBI. According to the Nevada Independent, “Burnett said he turned over the recording to his technology division and talked to his staff after the encounter. He then consulted with the general counsel, Joe Reynolds, in Sandoval’s office, who recommended handing it over to the FBI. He said he still believed that not intervening in the private litigation was the “right call” for the board to make. ‘It’s ironic that I say this right now,’ he said. ‘The conversation with the (general counsel) was that we need to do whatever we can to protect the gold standard and that if this all comes to light, we can look back and say we did the right thing.’” [Nevada Independent, 5/17/17]
Former Attorneys General Opposed Laxalt’s Actions
- Former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa Called Laxalt’s Actions Did “Not Appear to Have Been Handled From A Protocol Standpoint the Way Things are Normally Handled.” According to the Nevada Independent, “former Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa said in a phone interview Wednesday that there are a “number of unusual things” in the affidavit and that she couldn’t think of an instance during her tenure where her office intervened in a private matter, such as the Sands case. ‘Whoever made the statement that it was out of step with protocol is correct,’ Del Papa said. ‘This one does not appear to have been handled from a protocol standpoint the way things are normally handled.’” [Nevada Independent, 5/10/17]
- In May 2017, Cortez Masto Said Laxalt’s Explanation That His Action Was “Routine” Did “Not Make Any Sense.” According to the Nevada Independent, “Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s assertion that his attempt to persuade gaming regulators to intervene in a civil lawsuit involving billionaire Sheldon Adelson was a ‘routine action’ akin to those taken by his predecessor, now-Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, “does not make any sense,’ her office said in a Thursday statement.” [Nevada Independent, 5/12/17]
[1] Nevada Independent, 10/9/17
[2]Las Vegas Business Press, 2/24/16; Power Magazine, 6/22/17
[3] Las Vegas Sun, 2/12/14
