NV-Gov: Laxalt's relatives strike again; 12 of them oppose Republican's candidacy in scathing op-ed

Thanksgiving dinner for Adam Laxalt's extended family probably won't be a boring affair.

And that's given the very safe assumption that the Nevada Republican gubernatorial nominee doesn't gather with his dozen relatives who opposed his candidacy in a Reno Gazette-Journal op-ed.

Based on what they wrote Monday, their discussion amid stuffing and cranberry sauce ought to be quite animated even without him around.

What does the op-ed say?

The op-ed — signed by Gabriel Urza, Kevin Nomura, Amy Nomura Solaro, Alexandra Urza, Kevan Danielle Laxalt, Michelle Terese Laxalt, Peter Laxalt, Michelle Janet Laxalt, Dr. Kevin Marie Laxalt, Dr. Kristin Laxalt, Monique Laxalt, and Meggan Laxalt Mackey — begins almost regretfully.

"The decision to write this column has not been an easy one for us," the opening sentence states, which is followed quickly by an accusation that Adam Laxalt has been using, leveraging, and exploiting the family name in his campaign for governor.

"Over the years, we’ve always supported our family, even when we haven’t always agreed with them or their politics," the Laxalt relatives wrote. "But as this Election Day nears, we feel compelled to speak publicly about why we believe that Adam Laxalt is the wrong choice for Nevada’s governorship."

What's their beef?

The Laxalt kin said Adam Laxalt "falsely" claimed "he was raised in Nevada" and that he has no connection to state residents, adding that he moved to Nevada from the East Coast in 2013, "only one year later launching his political career."

More from their op-ed:

Second, there is the simple question of whether Adam is qualified to head the executive branch in Nevada. His brief experience as a practicing lawyer was described as a “train wreck” by members of his own firm. His tenure in the attorney general’s office has been little more than a four-year publicity tour for his current campaign for governor — in fact, he outsourced jobs in the AG’s office to out-of-state lawyers who were given special exemptions to practice law in Nevada.

Then, with the help of his outsourced entourage, Adam proceeded to undermine, time after time, not only twice-elected Governor Brian Sandoval, but the welfare of all Nevadans. Most concerning are the ethical shortcomings that have come to light while Adam has been attorney general, and his willingness to ignore the law for self-serving political purposes. In his short time in public office, Adam has already demonstrated a servitude to donors and out-of-state interests that puts their concerns ahead of real Nevadans’.

Laxalt's family members then say he'll make public lands less accessible, limit reproductive rights, and hurt public education.

'We never had a chance to get to know him, really'

"If he responds to this column at all, it will probably be to say that he hardly knows the people writing this column," Laxalt's family members write. "And in many ways that would be true. We never had a chance to get to know him, really — he spent his life in Washington, D.C., while we lived in Northern Nevada and grew up in public schools and on public lands. He moved to Nevada in 2013 so that he could lean on the reputation of a family that he hardly knew while tapping into support by donors who had no interest in our state or its people."

His family members end things by saying their op-ed by saying "isn’t about politics. We would be proud to have a Laxalt running for office on Nov. 6, regardless of whether they were Republican or Democrat or independent, so long as we believed that they would be good for Nevada. We’re writing because we care about Nevada and because we know the truth about this candidate. We think that you should, too."

How did the Laxalt campaign respond?

"Adam has a large family and some distant relatives are lifelong liberal activists, donors, and operatives," Laxalt campaign spokesman Parker Briden told TheBlaze in a Tuesday statement. "They’ve done this many times — going back to 2014 — and it’s never had any impact. Adam’s record of protecting Nevada seniors, veterans, and women is far more in line with Nevada’s values than Steve Sisolak’s support for raising property taxes, his doubling of student tuition, and his pattern of pay-to-play politics — for which he was called corrupt by a judge."

Briden reacted similarly a week ago to a video featuring Monique Laxalt — one of the op-ed's authors — who claimed her cousin Adam has shown “disdain for our beloved state and its people.” The clip was paid for by the campaign for Steve Sisolak, Laxalt's Democratic opponent for governor.



Laxalt, 40, has faced political opposition from his family members before. When he was running for attorney general, a number of the same authors of the latest op-ed penned a 2014 letter to the editor for the Nevada Sun backing his then-opponent, Ross Miller.

Laxalt led Sisolak by a point in a new poll earlier this month after having fallen behind the Democrat by 2 points in September.