The top hilarious, cringeworthy and WTF moments from Nevada debate history

In today's edition: Highlights of great (and not-so-great) moments across Nevada debate history. Plus: A look at a labor union gathering power ahead of the 2028 presidential election cycle and an exclusive on a new ad in the attorney general race.

Last week, two "press conferences" featured candidates taking no questions. 

I won't belabor it, but the definition of a press conference includes "a meeting at which … reporters can ask questions." 

It's not the first time this has happened, but it is disappointing. When candidates give squishy non-answers, voters ultimately lose out.

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

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Great (?) moments in Nevada debate history

Ready for a big debate between Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) and Gov. Joe Lombardo (R)? You may be waiting a while. Despite a lot of feinting and huffing about a verbal face-off, a debate looks unlikely.

(Though Ford's raised a hullabaloo, he did simply ignore a debate challenge from his Democratic primary opponent, who even trolled him with snazzy shirts. But I don't make the rules.)

Regardless, it's too bad. Debates are a Nevada political tradition. They're informative for voters, but we also love them because they're rich with spicy callouts, witty comebacks and cringe moments. 

Here are our favorites.

• "Man up, Harry Reid!" GOP challenger Sharron Angle fired that barb at Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in their 2010 debate.
• Asked during the 2022 governor debate if President Donald Trump (R) was a "great" president, Lombardo said, "I wouldn't say great. I think he was a sound president." Lombardo later made up for it with florid fanfare on social media.
• During a 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary debate, Reno attorney Joey Gilbert boasted that he was the only candidate who sued the government over mask mandates. When then-Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore asked him how many cases he had won, Gilbert dejectedly said, "Only one."
• Sample this touchingly civil 1998 gubernatorial debate between former Las Vegas Mayor Jan Jones (D) and candidate Kenny Guinn (R).
• Democrat Rory Reid spent much of an hourlong debate with Republican Brian Sandoval in 2010 criticizing Sandoval for failing to produce a plan to balance the state budget. Sandoval replied that Reid's plan featured "fantasy money."
• Asked about Arizona's immigration law during a 2010 debate, then-Gov. Jim Gibbons said, "We ought to profile everybody who looks like a terrorist. I don't have a problem with that. But if they want to have a racial profile of Irishmen, then I'm going to question that." An LA Times report noted, "It was unclear whether he was making a policy statement or a joke. The audience laughed."
• "I want to thank Congressman Jim Gibbons for finally showing up and Senator Bob Beers (R-NV) for always showing up," then-Lt. Gov. Lorraine Hunt (R) quipped during a 2006 gubernatorial debate after Gibbons finally agreed to debate.
• During a 2006 gubernatorial debate hosted at UNR, then-state Sen. Dina Titus (D-Las Vegas) drew boos from the audience when she mistakenly thanked students at UNLV for hosting the event. (Titus lost.)
• "I'd like to talk about who we're running against," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said during a 2020 presidential primary debate in Las Vegas. "A billionaire who calls women 'fat broads' and 'horse-faced lesbians.' And no, I'm not talking about Donald Trump. I'm talking about Mayor Bloomberg." Then-Mayor Mike Bloomberg (D) waved off the criticism, saying, "None of them accused me of doing anything other than maybe they didn't like the joke I told."

— Tabitha Mueller

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What we're reading and writing

We got David Flippo's financial disclosure.

On the trail (in a Chrysler Pacifica) with the GOP's dream candidate.

Flippo-gate reverberates.

Who's afraid to talk to Kate? This state Senate candidate.

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D.C. Download: Labor power pre-2028

Culinary Workers Union Local 226 Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge and more than a dozen Nevada workers made a pilgrimage to the U.S. Capitol last week. 

They were there supporting Sen. Cory Booker's (D-NJ) Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) that would set a timeline for contract negotiations after a union is certified. As it stands, workers often have to wait more than a year.

Alongside Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), they pointed out that this has been the case with Station Casinos, which has been part of a yearslong labor dispute and has been rebuked by the National Labor Relations Board for interfering with organizing. 

Last year, multiple Democrats pulled out of a Nevada Independent conference because it was held at a Station Casinos property, underscoring the Culinary's sway. 

"We're going to make sure this is the highest-profile face of the FLCA," Pappageorge told The Indy.

Learn more — including about the other potential 2028 presidential candidate who was especially interested in the effort — on Instagram. 

— Mini Racker

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Indy Ad Watch: Legos and lies

First in Indy Elections: Democratic attorney general candidate Nicole Cannizzaro is kicking off a planned seven-figure ad campaign with a 30-second spot that began airing Tuesday. 

The ad, titled "Facts," criticizes her opponent, Adriana Guzmán Fralick (R), for helping with then-Gov. Jim Gibbons' (R) lawsuit challenging the Affordable Care Act. It also criticized her for sitting on the board of a health care nonprofit that cut back services while increasing its CEO's salary. 

It's the first ad directly linked to Cannizzaro's campaign during the general election cycle. Her campaign has reserved more than $175,000 in broadcast space so far, according to the ad-tracking platform AdImpact, but it plans to increase total spending to seven figures across broadcast and digital platforms.

A group tied to the Democratic Attorneys General Association has also spent or reserved more than $800,000 in ad space to support Cannizzaro. It released its first ad last week. Guzmán Fralick also has multiple ads airing, and a group connected to the Republican Attorneys General Association has reserved more than $1.2 million in ad space, according to AdImpact. 

• In the 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) is up with an attack ad slamming GOP opponent Marty O'Donnell as a "California multimillionaire" and criticizing his support for the Iran war and tariffs. O'Donnell has his own new ad featuring him building with Legos, along with an animation of a Lego Lee guffawing beside a toy hedge fund CEO, Donald Mullen. It claims Mullen is supporting Lee; FEC records show he last gave her money in 2019. The ad's assertion that Lee "lets corporations do whatever they want" while O'Donnell will "ban them from buying up family homes," falls flat — she and the rest of the Nevada delegation voted for a major housing law that in part limited how many houses corporations can buy.
• Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and state Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) are also up with dueling spots. The Democrat's ad calls Buck "the rubber stamp for the agenda that's already costing you," blaming Trump's tariffs, war and "tantrum" with Canada for raising prices and reducing tourism. The Republican ad also targets affordability, though it has less immediate material to work with; it features audio from 2020, when Titus expressed support for raising the gas tax.  
• Opponents of the question to enshrine abortion rights in the Nevada Constitution released a social media ad last week and have spent at least $400 on digital ads, according to Meta's ad library. The group behind it — Protect Our Girls PAC — raised just $10,000 in the first six months of 2026. The group behind the initiative — Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom — raised more than $800,000, and on Monday announced plans for a $1 million digital ad campaign.

— Eric Neugeboren and Mini Racker

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Mini Series: Financial rabbit Cole

🤑 Out of town? Bet on Kalshi — Residents of Nevada aren't allowed to wager on prediction market platforms, but that hasn't stopped politically obsessed people (AKA total nerds) from doing so. Kalshi users have bet nearly $930,000 on Nevada's gubernatorial race — and the odds slightly favor Lombardo, whose "chance" on Kalshi is 53 percent as of Sept. 28. 

• Other toss-up governor races include Ohio, where $1.85 million has been bet on Kalshi's market; $1.23 million in Georgia; and $675,000 in Alaska. When you consider Nevada residents can't even bet on their own election — well, it's a pretty clear sign #WeMatter.

👩‍🏫 Down a financial rabbit Cole — GSD PAC, which The Indy reported last week was bankrolling mailers against legislative candidate Vinny Spotleson (D), is run by Assm. Lisa Cole (R-Las Vegas).

• Cole's name is not listed on the group's registration form. She told The Indy via text that she founded the group as her "leadership PAC, which is focused on getting more governor-endorsed Republicans elected to the Assembly."
• The Clark County Education Association, which has endorsed Cole, is the PAC's single biggest donor, giving it $100,000 in February and another $20,000 in May. The union has donated large sums to PACs tied to both major parties. Executive director John Vellardita said in an interview that, "Effective politics is all about hedging your bets. Is that cynical? Absolutely not. That's extremely practical."

💰 Declaring independence  — The 2nd Congressional District race is now the costliest in the district's recorded history in terms of outside spending. With the help of an AI tool, The Nevada Independent found that interest groups have invested nearly $2.3 million in the race, largely to boost small-business owner David Flippo (R). The last time independent expenditures crossed seven digits was way back in 2006, when outside groups spent about $1.25 million in what became the closest general election in the seat's history. It was also the last time Club for Growth played in the district before this year.

— Kate Reynolds and Mini Racker

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Looking Ahead

• Wednesday, Sept. 30 — IndyTalks Reno Mayoral Forum
• Saturday, Oct. 17  — Early voting starts and goes through Friday, Oct. 30, 2026.

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A post that caught our eye: 

Why pose with a fish when you can pose with a bill?

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