Nevada governor hopefuls kick off election season with ad buys

It’s officially election season in Nevada, and that means it’s only a matter of time before your televisions and radios are overtaken by political ads.

Those ads are starting to trickle onto the airwaves from the candidates hoping to succeed Gov. Brian Sandoval.

Republican Nevada Treasurer Dan Schwartz was the first candidate out the gate with ads airing Nevada television stations this month.

And this week, Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak and Attorney General Adam Laxalt launched their own ads.

Sisolak’s campaign entered the year with $5.75 million to spend, and it is flexing that fundraising prowess with an early ad buy worth $137,000. The 30-second ad touts the Democrat as someone who will stand up to President Donald Trump, Big Pharma and the National Rifle Association.

It is slated to run in Reno and Las Vegas through the next week, according to filings from the Federal Communications Commission.

Laxalt, meanwhile, is taking a different approach — and leveraging some recent success on behalf of the school in the north.

His campaign purchased a single time slot in Reno and Las Vegas to run a 1-minute ad Thursday between 4 and 6:30 pm on KLAS, Channel 8, in Las Vegas and KTVN, Channel 2, in Reno.

That also is the time slot on the same stations which will air Nevada’s Sweet 16 matchup against Loyola-Chicago.

The ad, according to the Laxalt campaign, is meant to introduce the Republican “to voters watching and rooting for the Nevada Wolf Pack’s men’s basketball team.”

Heller ads

A national organization that represents CEOs from America’s largest companies sponsored radio ads in Las Vegas and Reno thanking U.S. Sen. Dean Heller for passing the tax reform bill.

Business Roundtable reportedly spent an estimated $51,000 on the ads. The Washington, D.C.-based group lobbied heavily for the tax bill, which was crafted in part by Heller, spending an estimated $27 million on lobbying efforts in 2017.

The 30-second ad claims that tax reform is “already making a difference” — companies are delivering bonuses, wage increases and new family leave benefits, it says. It asks listeners to text “reform” to 52886 to thank Heller.

“Businesses large and small have more opportunities to innovate, invest and grow under the new tax system that means more jobs and bigger paychecks for Nevada’s family’s,” the ad said.

Opponents of the GOP tax bill say it will add actually add $2 trillion to the national debt.

Endorsements

■ Democratic treasurer candidate Zach Conine landed a primary endorsement from former U.S. Sen. Harry Reid.“His experience managing large budgets and helping companies get back on their feet is just what Nevada needs to continue growing and diversifying our local economy,” Reid said in a statement announcing the endorsement.

■ The Human Rights Campaign, which claims to be the country’s largest LGBTQ rights group, and the Nevada State Education Association both endorsed Democrat Susie Lee this week in her bid for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District.

■ The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 401 endorsed Democrat state Sen. Aaron Ford in his run for attorney general.

■ U.S. Rep. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, D-Arizona.

Events and notes

■ Former presidential candidate and tea party activist Herman Cain will be in Las Vegas for a fundraising event for Republican Danny Tarkanian. Tarkanian was running for U.S. Senate to challenge incumbent GOP Sen. Dean Heller up until last Thursday, but is now running in Nevada’s 3rd District after being urged to switch by President Donald Trump. The event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at Piero’s Italian Cuisine, 355 Convention Center Drive.

■ Two longtime incumbents — Clark County Administrator John Cahill and Henderson Constable Earl Mitchell — withdrew from their respective races this week.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter. Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.