PARTY LINES: Trump nod helps Lombardo in primary

Donald Trump has spoken.

The ex-president weighed in on Nevada’s Republican primary for governor Wednesday, declaring his support for Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo. It makes sense: Lombardo is the front-runner and probably has the best chance of anyone in the GOP field to beat incumbent Democrat Steve Sisolak.

Trump has doled out endorsements somewhat haphazardly since he was ousted by Joe Biden in 2020. But a recurring thread seems to be fealty to Trump himself and commitment to the false idea that the 2020 election was stolen.

In that sense, the Lombardo endorsement is a departure from tradition. First, Lombardo has never said the election was stolen. Rather, he has said he’s “seen no evidence” for Trump’s allegations, owing to the fact that there is no evidence. Instead, Lombardo has threaded the needle carefully — as is his wont — by saying we can make the elections more secure.

Second, Lombardo has neither bowed nor scraped in search of Trump’s support. Nearly a year ago, he told the Review-Journal that he would “accept” an endorsement from Trump, but not at the expense of his principles.

That’s a far cry from candidates such as Joey Gilbert, who proudly says he was “Trump from the jump,” or John Lee, whose transformation from conservative Democrat to conservative Republican has been somewhat Trumpian. Dean Heller has never been able to repair his relationship with Trump, after declaring in 2016 he was “99 percent against Trump” but later sucking up in an attempt to regain Trump’s favor. In his first Review-Journal interview of the campaign, Heller refused to even say Biden’s name, only later to declare him an “illegitimate” president.

But Trump’s support is a two-edged sword: It will certainly help Lombardo in the primary, where he has been accused of being a Republican in name only and soft on immigration. How can anyone question him now that Trump has specifically blessed him, including on Lombardo’s opposition to sanctuary cities?

They sure tried: Heller spokesman Jack Finn said it was “puzzling” that Trump would back Lombardo, who Finn claimed established a “sanctuary city” in Las Vegas. Lee said Lombardo had lied to Trump. But implying Trump was either addled or easily deceived is certainly not the way to Trump’s heart.

How will the endorsement fare in the general election, when Lombardo will be trying to reach nonpartisan voters and even Democrats? Sisolak’s campaign response gives a preview: Lombardo is panicking and reaching for a lifeline, and oh, by the way, don’t forget Trump lost Nevada in 2016 and 2020.

Maybe Lombardo’s camp should schedule Trump’s rallies for before the June 14 primary, and keep that general election schedule clear.

Speaking of endorsements

But where can Democrats such as Sisolak or U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto go in search of their own big-name endorsements, something with the gravitas to counter Trump?

It can’t be the most obvious answer: President Joe Biden. He’s less popular than Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Conservative Political Action Conference. And Vice President Kamala Harris is slightly worse, so she’s also out.

Republicans have spent the last decade or so demonizing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — naturally, since she wins elections — so her negatives are way too high. And not enough people know her No. 2, Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, to make him an effective surrogate (although he could bring some Maryland blue crabs to a fundraiser, which is always appreciated).

In the Senate, New York Democrat Chuck Schumer is not a good choice, given that he’s the party’s lightning rod for criticism in the upper house. Illinois’ Dick Durbin has the Hoyer problem, but doesn’t even have seafood to offer.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is still pretty popular, and he can boast about the highway funding included in the latest infrastructure bill. But in Nevada, highway funding translates to orange cones and incompetent construction lane management, so that will backfire. Everybody knows Attorney General Merrick Garland, but the most likely question for him from Nevada Democrats will be, “Why haven’t you indicted Donald Trump yet?”

How about an ex-president? Jimmy Carter is probably too old, and the comparisons to Biden and inflation would not go well. Bill Clinton is too canceled, although he remains the smartest person in the field. Barack Obama remains hugely popular with Democrats, although he’s apparently jockeying with Biden over whose presidency was most impactive, so feathers could get ruffled.

There’s really only one choice for Sisolak and Cortez Masto, a figure so popular in the party with no baggage, a president whose two terms were both consequential and dramatic, and someone whom every Democrat regardless of where they fall on the political spectrum still loves: President Josiah Bartlet, who served in The West Wing from 1999 to 2006. He’d make the trip from New Hampshire to help out a rising star in the party, for sure. And maybe he could persuade former top aides Josh Lyman and Sam Seaborn to help out their campaigns, too?

And still speaking of endorsements…

State Sen. Pat Spearman, running for North Las Vegas mayor, got the backing of the SEIU Local 1107, which represents health care and public-sector workers in Nevada. … The Nevada Conservation League has endorsed Sisolak for re-election, citing his efforts to fight climate change. … The progressive organizing group Our Revolution has backed Amy Vilela for Congress in the 1st District (the group backed her during her first run in 2018, too). … The Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers and the Nevada Law Enforcement Coalition jointly endorsed Cortez Masto, citing her work on funding, training and fair working conditions for cops. … The AFL-CIO of Nevada issued its endorsements, mostly of Democrats and incumbents, save for Republicans Gerald Swanson in Assembly District 19 and Jay Dixon in Assembly District 26 and Daniel Patterson, who lists no political party, in state Senate District 20.

Nomination calendar update

There’s a law in New Hampshire that allows the state to set the date of the presidential primary election one week ahead of any other state’s. Then again, there’s a state law in Nevada that says we get to have a presidential primary on the first Tuesday in February of presidential election years.

But the real power lies with the Democratic National Committee, which this year has thrown open its nominating calendar to applicants that may better reflect the party’s priorities in picking a presidential nominee.

Politico reported April 27 that New Hampshire is the leading contender for the new top spot, displacing Iowa, which traditionally goes first. The state meets party criteria for competitiveness and regional diversity. (Regional diversity is a very different thing from actual diversity, as New Hampshire is whiter than a yacht race.)

That’s why Nevada is also a good candidate to be No. 1, Politico reported, quoting an anonymous source.

“New Hampshire is defending 100 years of tradition, so it puts the onus on Nevada to make a compelling argument for why we should jump ahead of them,” the source said.

Hmmm, how about “nobody wants to visit New Hampshire in the frigid dead of winter, and everybody wants to visit Las Vegas all the time year-round?”

New Hampshire apparently has the backing of other New England states, as well as the advice of former Secretary of State Bill Gardner, who for decades successfully defended New Hampshire’s primary supremacy.

After states that want to move up on the calendar submit their applications, the matter will go to the Rules and Bylaws Committee of the DNC, which will make a recommendation to the party as a whole.

Did the earth move for you, too?

The headline on the news release from Adam Laxalt’s U.S. Senate campaign says it all: “Governor Ron DeSantis And Adam Laxalt Rock Las Vegas At Rise Up Rally.” The U.S. Geological Survey, however, reported no unusual seismic activity during the Wednesday evening rally held at — where else? — Stoney’s Rockin’ Country at Town Square.

Contact Steve Sebelius at SSebelius@reviewjournal.com. Follow @SteveSebelius on Twitter.