Adam Laxalt has yet to officially announce his 2018 intentions, but whatever path the ascendant Republican attorney general and likely gubernatorial candidate takes is already being buttressed by prominent national Republicans, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.

In a piece of direct mail sent to supporters and paid for by Laxalt’s campaign, Cruz asks donors for a pledge of support to him and Laxalt to “stand up against the liberal attack machine” by donating amounts of $200, $150 or $100 to the campaign.

Also enclosed in the fundraising pitch is a 2-page letter from Cruz promoting Laxalt as the state’s “Top Gun” in defending state and firearm rights, and asks for help in defending Laxalt against the “Democrat Party machine.”

“You don’t need me to tell you that the liberals and their allies in the media have recently identified Adam Laxalt as a rising GOP star and they want to defeat him before he earns any more success in the swing state of Nevada,” he wrote.

In December, Laxalt’s office issued an opinion declaring that a narrowly approved 2016 ballot measure expanding background check requirements on private-party firearms sales or transfers was “unenforceable” due to issues with the FBI’s position on allowing immediarities to use their background check system. Laxalt’s campaign has sent at least two emails linking to pieces defending his decision not to enforce the ballot question, including links to donate to his campaign account.

Laxalt endorsed Cruz ahead of the state’s 2016 presidential caucus, where the Texas senator finished third behind Donald Trump and fellow Republican Sen. Marco Rubio. The two share a political consultant — Robert Uithoven — who ran Laxalt’s 2014 campaign and managed Cruz’s 2016 presidential efforts in Nevada.

Laxalt’s campaign told the Las Vegas Review-Journal earlier in June that he had raised more than $600,000 since the start of April. He’s also scheduled fundraisers featuring prominent Washington D.C. conservatives and leadership of the Republican Governor’s Association.

Laxalt Cruz Mailer by Riley Snyder on Scribd

Caption: Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt in Carson City on May 17, 2017. Photo by David Calvert/The Nevada Independent.