PARTY LINES: Nevada’s funny political ads most memorable

Political ads are everywhere these days, and it’s only going to get worse as Election Day approaches.

Most ads can be divided into two categories: positive, biographical spots highlighting a candidate’s (usually humble) roots, and negative, attack ads that depict a candidate’s opponent as the latest incarnation of Beelzebub. Sometimes, an ad even combines the two.

Conventional wisdom says negative ads are more memorable than positive ones, which is why the ratio is about 10:1 of the former to the latter. But for our money, the best ads are the ones that are (intentionally) funny.

Take state Treasurer Zach Conine’s recent ad, in which we go behind the scenes at a recording studio where a voice actor is reading a script attacking Conine’s general election opponent: “Michele Fiore is under financial investigation for financial crimes,” he intones. She “has $1.2 million in tax liens.”

Enter Conine, who grabs the mike away and says, “OK, Scary Voice Guy, that’s true. But let’s talk about what we’ve accomplished, like saving taxpayers millions of dollars, running the largest small-business aid program and saving thousands of Nevadans from losing their homes. And we did it all with bipartisan support.”

The ad is effective not only because it’s humorous but also because it breaks the fourth wall, letting the audience in on the joke that has become the modern campaign ad formula. It gets Conine’s accomplishments across to the audience while also highlighting some negative information about Fiore. It also humanizes Conine, a state official whom many people may not know if they haven’t been to a government meeting or a legislative session.

And the part about bipartisan support? That’s a subtle dig at Fiore’s undeniable partisanship (she’s the Republican National Committeewoman from Nevada, after all).

We’re big advocates of using more humor in political ads, so long as it’s done intentionally and — this is very important — it’s actually funny. Conine managed to hit that sweet spot with this ad.

Conceding, not conceding

Joey Gilbert, the Reno attorney who finished second in the Republican gubernatorial primary against Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and then sued to overturn the election results, has had a change of heart.

But he’s not exactly conceding.

In a statement Gilbert released this week, he said many words, but “concede” was not among them. Neither was there an admission that he lost the election to Lombardo 38 percent to 27 percent. Or even an apology for his long-shot and downright bizarre legal filings contesting the results.

Instead, Gilbert basically said Lombardo was better than Democratic incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak. A warm embrace, it was not.

“While I am continuing to fight every single day for the people of Nevada as an attorney, father and leader, it’s time we come together and fight to get Steve Sisolak out of office,” Gilbert said in a statement. “While Sheriff Lombardo and I don’t agree on everything — he’s better than Steve Sisolak.”

And the money line: “I’m urging everyone that has supported me to turn out and VOTE RED – DOWN THE ENTIRE TICKET, for all our amazing candidates who love our country and will put Nevada and America — FIRST.” Emphasis definitely in original.

For Lombardo, an end to Gilbert’s crusade was welcome news, even if it did come very late in the cycle. But it does help put the Gilbert Resentment Vote into Lombardo’s corner, assuming the Gilbertarians go along with his recommendation.

Oh, and one final thing: Gilbert changed the name of his Facebook group from “Gilbert for Governor” to “Joey Gilbert Fighting for Nevada.” So even if Gilbert didn’t actually concede or admit he lost, his new status as a former candidate for governor is Facebook official.

Changing ratings

Amid a tough economy and razor-thin polling margins, at least one Nevada Democrat had reason to celebrate recently. The Cook Political Report moved the 4th Congressional District race from “Democratic toss-up” to “Lean Democrat,” a sign Cook analysts believe that contest may be breaking for incumbent Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford. He joins California Rep. Katie Porter and New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney in that category.

Still stuck in “Democratic toss-up” purgatory, however, are Reps. Susie Lee of the 3rd District and Dina Titus of the 1st District. All three are running in newly drawn congressional seats that were designed to give Horsford and Lee an easier time at re-election, but made things harder for Titus.

Dirty Dina

We get emails all the time about events staged by politicos that are designed to get free coverage from the local media. Most of the time, we pass, as there’s very little nutritional value.

But this week, we were genuinely sad to miss one, when Rep. Dina Titus, Henderson Mayor Debra March and Mayor-elect Michelle Romero got to tour the Eldorado Valley Regional Public Safety Training Facility, which — and we are not making this up — apparently goes by the acronym EVRPSTF.

The facility — a joint venture between Boulder City and Henderson — is built on 240 acres of donated land and allows state, local and federal law enforcement agencies to train in realistic conditions. Titus got some extra money for the facility in a House bill.

Her tour included the shoot house, where officers practice dynamic entry techniques and use the shooting range and the emergency vehicle operations course, all of which sound totally awesome. No word if Titus — who has said she’s a gun owner — got to drop hammer on some targets or roll code on the driving course. But if not, it was a missed opportunity.

Voter guide goes live!

The Review-Journal’s voter guide is now live on the newspaper’s website. Nearly the entire newspaper staff worked hard to do interviews in every single race, up and down the ballot, to bring you information about the candidates running for every office from Congress to constable. We hope it’s useful as you begin planning your vote for 2022.

Election calendar update

Oct. 19: Deadline for Clark County to mail ballots to every active registered voter.

Oct. 22-Nov. 4: In-person early voting at vote centers around Clark County.

Nov. 8: Election Day! In person voting at countywide voting centers. All mail-in ballots must be postmarked by this date and received by the county Nov. 12 in order to count.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0253. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.