In this editorial, the Las Vegas Sun laments the lack of honest Republicans who believe in democracy and fair elections that are running for office in Nevada. I share their concern, and believe it is a problem in most, if not all, states.
No one knows better than Nevadans when it’s time to put our cards on the table.
The Editorial Board, and Nevadans as a whole, are facing an agonizing problem. We have endorsed Republicans in the past and might do so again in the future. Yet as we survey the field of Republican candidates across the state, we are struggling to identify those who are not an active threat to American democracy or the institutions of government that have sustained our republic for 250 years.
Those are the stakes here for the GOP. For Nevada. For our voters.
Following his loss in the 2020 election, President Donald Trump told the Big Lie – that the election had been stolen from him by cheaters, frauds and a country hell-bent on keeping him out of office. Despite countless investigations and audits, no significant fraud or electoral irregularities were ever discovered.
But the words had been spoken. The lie was told.
Two months later, on one of the darkest days in U.S. history, we learned just how far the lie had traveled and just how important it might be. Following a rally at the White House, a violent insurrection took hold at the U.S. Capitol with the goal of overthrowing the duly elected government of the United States and stopping the peaceful transition of power. At least seven people died in connection with the attack, according to a congressional report, including three police officers who were simply doing their job.
Since the insurrection, Republican leadership across the nation has worked to disenfranchise voters, allow themselves to defy the will of voters outright and to allow partisan interference in the vote count. The GOP leadership’s assault on voting rights and basic fairness has been horrifying to watch. Happily, so far Nevada has escaped such corruption. But the coming election could change all that if Big Lie candidates gain office.
Trump told The Washington Post last month that he wished he could have marched on the Capitol with the rioters, but that the Secret Service wouldn’t allow it. And now, numerous GOP candidates in Nevada are saying they wish they had been there too — not to stop the violence, but to endorse it.
Gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert was actually at the Capitol that day, spinning unfounded conspiracy theories about election fraud and accusing those Republicans who believe the vote was legitimate of being “RINOs (Republicans in Name Only)” who should be removed from the party.He didn’t think that those who vandalized the halls of our Capitol or threatened police officers should be tossed out; he cheered them on. And he’s not alone.
As we wrote last October, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo disgraced himself by not condemning the violent right-wing groups that have been welcomed into the Nevada GOP, leaving Southern Nevadans to wonder whether their sheriff will protect and serve everyone in our community regardless of political persuasion.
Of the five leading Republican candidates for the governorship of Nevada, every one of them has gone on record as both supporting and contributing to the Big Lie. In doing so, they have all made a choice to subvert our democracy, undermine the integrity of our elections, and ignore the Constitution of the United States.
Will GOP leaders stand up for the rule of law and free and fair elections by rejecting autocracy and lies? Or will they continue to debase themselves and their formerly great party by kneeling to their unhinged demigod, Donald Trump, and his dreams of authoritarianism.
We pray this type of anti-democratic leadership does not represent the entirety of those candidates seeking office under the Republican banner in the Silver State. After all, this is the state that just seven years ago found common ground and reelected Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval with a staggering 70.5% of the vote.
Sandoval proved to be a fair, effective and honorable governor. And had the party not lurched into insanity, he would be considered a compelling GOP candidate for president in 2024. In today’s GOP, he wouldn’t stand a chance because honor and fairness doesn’t win primaries in the GOP anymore.
As we are working on evaluations for our primary endorsements, we are pained to admit that it’s difficult to find honesty and integrity in the GOP hopefuls on this ballot.
If you are a Republican running for office who believes in truth, believes that the last election was fair, who rejects the deranged calls to destroy our democracy, we need to hear from you. Nevada needs to hear from you. We want to endorse sanity, honesty, integrity and moderation.
As it stands right now, voters are faced with a slate of GOP candidates — nearly across the board — who aren’t fit for elective office because they buy into the Big Lie and its attempt to derail democracy. We hate finding people in the public sphere who want to destroy the very elections they now seek to win. We hate efforts to disenfranchise voters and rig future elections. We yearn for a dignified, honest and pro-democracy Republican leadership. We yearn for the Republicans of years past. Patriots, not insurrectionists.
So please, if you are such a Republican and are running for office, stand proud and reach out to us. We want to present a list of heroes trying to rescue their party from the madness afflicting it.We want to share your perspective with our readers and let them know that Republican candidates for office still exist who believe in the Constitution, who believe in democracy, and who believe that the peaceful transition of power among our duly elected officials is a hallmark of what not only has made America great in the past, but what can help us continue to be a great country moving forward.
