The Culinary Union — one of Nevada’s most potent political forces for Democrats — is taking the unusual (and intended to be harmful) step of reminding GOP voters that it supported Republican gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo in his 2018 campaign for sheriff.

Political mailers obtained by The Nevada Independent state that as sheriff, Lombardo “stopped going after so many immigrants” and “stopped arresting so many undocumented immigrants or turning them over to be deported.” 

The union, which has committed to knocking on more than 1 million doors in support of Democratic candidates (including Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak) on the 2022 ticket, had endorsed Lombardo in his run for sheriff in the 2018 primary election. Its decision to remind Republican voters of that endorsement could be viewed as an effort to stymie GOP enthusiasm for the Clark County lawman — Lombardo ran behind other candidates in several heavy Republican rural counties during the 2022 primary.

Lombardo will likely need heavy rural turnout by Republicans to defeat Sisolak on Election Day.

“Culinary Union is the largest organization of immigrants,” a spokesperson for the union said in an email on Sunday. “We endorsed Joe Lombardo for sheriff when he ran in 2018. We wanted to remind Republican voters of that.”

Publicly, the union has been sharply critical of Lombardo, going as far as to rescind endorsements of judicial candidates who appeared in a photo with the Republican candidate. Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge told the Nevada Current that the endorsements were pulled because “Joe Lombardo is a threat to workers and our values.”

Lombardo’s record on immigration issues was easy fodder for other Republican gubernatorial candidates ahead of the state’s primary, including candidate and former Sen. Dean Heller dubbing him “Sanctuary Joe.” 

On the primary campaign trail, Lombardo touted his role in helping deport 10,000 people and his role in ensuring the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department continued to quietly hand over undocumented immigrants to federal officials after they were released from jail for nonviolent crimes even after Metro withdrew from a formal jail-based immigration enforcement partnership known as 287(g).

Lombardo has said he would “ensure sanctuary cities are banned” if elected governor.

At least one Democratic outside group has pulled a similar stunt in Nevada’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race. EDF Action — the advocacy arm of the left-leaning Environmental Defense Fund — is also sending mail pieces out to registered Republican voters urging them to support nonpartisan Senate candidate Barry Lindemann over the Republican candidate Adam Laxalt. 

It’s part of the group’s $500,000 independent expenditure effort opposing Laxalt, which also includes a Spanish-language radio ad and other mail pieces. The group is supporting Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.