In today's edition: A new initiative aims to build consensus on legislative solutions during a time of increasing political polarization. Plus: Republican attorney general candidates take swings at each other, how gas prices are playing out in the gubernatorial election and the latest on the partial government shutdown.

Primary season is already getting ugly. Between the ultracompetitive attorney general race, attacks over high gas prices in the gubernatorial election and some funny business in the Clark County recorder race, we run down the latest campaign drama so you can draw your own conclusions. 

This newsletter is published every week. We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected]. 

A new bipartisan effort to build consensus

The Nevada Forum, a new nonpartisan civic initiative, is officially launching Thursday. 

Helmed by a politically diverse group, the initiative is designed to help Nevadans communicate across political divides and generate bipartisan legislation lawmakers can implement during the 2027 legislative session. 

We spoke with actor and entrepreneur Andrew Shue, the national director and chief architect of the forum, Democratic co-chair Chris Miller and Republican co-chair Greg Bailor about the goals of the new civic infrastructure, how its creators hope to bridge what they describe as growing political polarization and the lessons they're hoping it can show the rest of the country.

Nevada is one of three states where the project is launching, alongside New Hampshire and South Carolina — all three are likely to host early presidential primaries.

"There's just a real desire to start getting stuff done," Shue told us on Friday. 

Initial funding for the enterprise, Shue said, came from people in his entrepreneurial circle who wanted to address the growing divides and use seed capital to show what is possible. 

"Our goal is to have this not be a one-and-done," Shue said. "This should be, like I said, annualized civic infrastructure, but it needs to be funded by people there on the ground in Nevada. And we believe that will happen."

To read all the details, click here.

— Tabitha Mueller

Who already dropped out

March 24 was the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the ballot, and several did so.

In the crowded race for the 2nd Congressional District, two candidates dropped out since filing ended: retired Lt. Col. Bill Conrad (R), who quickly endorsed small-business owner and fellow retired Lt. Col. David Flippo (R), and Doug Miller (R). That leaves 25 candidates in the race, including 13 Republicans. 

In the race for Assembly District 23, Kathy Ochs (R) withdrew, leaving Jan Allen Aspelund (D) and Denise Daniels Fanning (R) running unopposed in the primaries. 

Other candidates who withdrew include Kathryn Nix (L) in Assembly District 29, and a handful of contenders in local races. 

What we're reading and writing

With Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R) endorsing for Northern Nevada's open congressional seat, the congressman sent me the fiercest statement I've ever received from a sitting member. You'll want to see what he said yourself.

Eleven Democrats are still running for the Republican-leaning seat. Four of them have agreed to drop out — but which four?

Just how long can elected officials legally stay in office?

A Nevada Democrat is working to keep unauthorized biolabs out of your neighborhood.

D.C. Download

At 46 days, the funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the longest ever. Washington lawmakers could have ended the partial shutdown last week, when senators agreed to a deal that would fund DHS apart from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and border patrol. But House Republicans decided that plan gave Democrats too much and refused to vote on it. 

The two parties are trading blame like a hot potato. Republicans have hammered Democrats over the shutdown, with the National Republican Congressional Committee releasing a battleground ad last week, geo-targeting Harry Reid and other airports, which features clips of packed security queues and the text: "Stuck in Line? Blame a Democrat." 

Nevada Democrats slammed President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). In a Friday statement, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) wrote, "Speaker Johnson and House Republicans continue to own this shutdown. They walked away from a bipartisan solution and followed President Trump over a cliff."

The Trump administration released some of the pressure, ordering DHS and the Office of Management and Budget to find money to pay Transportation Security Administration agents. With Congress out, a deal is likely weeks away. 

Indy Ad Watch 

Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) campaign is out with a new ad touting his education policies.

The 30-second spot includes references to Lombardo's education accountability bill last year, which itself did not pass but elements were included in another proposal from Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas). It also referred to decreasing teacher vacancy rates, which has been attributed to pay raises approved three years ago, and his efforts to improve school safety. Lombardo signed two bills in 2023 that rolled back parts of a controversial 2019 law that placed restrictions on student suspensions and expulsions.

The ad comes from the Service First Fund, a nonprofit that started as Lombardo's inaugural committee — a departure from previous governors whose inaugural committees were PACs. It has been called a "dark money" group because it does not have to disclose donors, and Lombardo has vetoed legislative efforts to require greater transparency of inaugural committees.

The group has made $1.9 million in ad reservations this year, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

— Eric Neugeboren

Mini Series

🥊 Shots fired in GOP AG race — In response to a post about a poll commissioned by attorney general candidate Danny Tarkanian (R), his opponent, former Cannabis Compliance Board Chair Adriana Guzmán Fralick (R), said he had offered her a job in exchange for dropping out of the race and that the race was his "last chance to win something."

• Tarkanian, a Douglas County commissioner, told The Indy that he had shared the poll results with Fralick and "asked whether she would consider stepping aside so we could work together in the Attorney General's office and position Republicans for victory in November." He also denied saying it was his last chance to win.

🐄 Campaigning in the rurals — The Rural Nevada Democratic Caucus (RNDC) has planned a road tour with eight Democrats running for the 2nd Congressional District.

• The lineup features Teresa Benitez Thompson, Matthew Fonken, Josh Hebert, Morgan Wadsworth, Kathy Durham, Sam White, Mark Jolle and Gamaliel Zavala Enriquez. Greg Kidd declined due to a business travel conflict, his campaign said.
• The tour will include nine events between April 15 and May 8 in locations such as White Pine and Winnemucca. "We specifically targeted our most rural places that typically don't get visited by Democratic candidates," RNDC chair Devan Doan said.
• Rural at-large state central committee member Cynthia Mohiuddin, who conceptualized the tour, said the format would be more "invigorating for people than polished ballrooms with $500-a-plate-type entrance fees."
• "I do think there's a newfound realization that maybe wasn't present before, within not just the state party, but the national party, that they need rural votes," she said. "They're not going to win without them." Doan added he's talking with Democratic National Committee leadership around rural investment.

📋 On the recorder — The fight for Clark County recorder has grown contentious. One recorder candidate, Skye Berry Burress (D), is suing her former boss, County Recorder Debbie Conway (D). Berry Burress, the Clark County operations manager for the past seven years, alleges that the recorder's office discriminated against her based on her race. (Conway and Berry Burress are both Black.) Berry Burress also filed for bankruptcy in October of last year. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Asked why she wasn't running for re-election, Conway told The Indy she never intended to serve more than 20 years and is retiring now that she's reached that goal. Assm. Tanya Flanagan (D-Las Vegas) has also thrown her hat in the ring — she is endorsed by Conway and has more than $65,800 in the bank. Berry Buress has raised about $900. 

⛽️ Like oil and water — Allies of Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) took aim at Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) online after Ford posted a video detailing Las Vegas' sky-high gas prices. In the video, Ford visits a gas station charging $5.19 a gallon and blames the high cost on Trump's military campaign in Iran, "which Joe Lombardo supports." He also describes Trump as Lombardo's friend.

• Ford's video triggered plenty of Republican pushback, including from Lombardo's Better Nevada PAC. Lombardo reposted a response from the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, which lambasted Ford's support for clean energy initiatives and blamed high gas prices on California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Nearly 90 percent of Nevada's gasoline comes from California.
• Gas prices in the Silver State are higher than the national average, in part because Nevada's reliance on California's oil makes it more vulnerable to supply chain issues. Those prices have further spiked during the war with Iran. As of Monday morning, the average gas price in Nevada was $4.91 per gallon; nationwide, it was $3.99.

— Eric Neugeboren, Mini Racker, Oona Milliken and Kate Reynolds

Looking Ahead

• Wednesday, April 1 — The Supreme Court hears arguments on birthright citizenship
• Wednesday, May 20 — We host a debate between the Democratic attorney general candidates

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A post that caught our eye: 

Candidates are occasionally mocked for "word salad." But what about actual salad? 

We'll see you next week. Interested in more newsletters from The Nevada Independent? Find all of them here.