Nevada
Nikki Haley: Second to none? – Nevada Current
Ten years ago, the Nevada State Democratic Party (Harry Reid, proprietor) decided not to run anybody against incumbent Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval. Reid had cooked up a byzantine Reid-protection scheme, the details of which I won’t bore you with, but the results of which were Republican control of both houses of the state legislature, Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford losing his congressional seat, and Nevada voters, especially Democratic ones, made to suffer a peculiarly distinctive strain of inanity. But I digress.
A guy named Bob Goodman filed in the Democratic primary for governor in 2014 anyway, and he came in second to “none of these candidates,” which is an option Nevada voters can choose in statewide races – including presidential races.
After suggesting he’d stay neutral last year, Joe Lombardo earlier this week endorsed Trump for president, and said he would be supporting Trump in the Nevada State Republican Party’s presidential caucus (an event notable only for its needlessness and absurdity, and that is being all but ignored by the rest of the nation).
In the process, Lombardo said he would also vote in the presidential preference primary that the state is required by law to hold, but will vote for the “none of these candidates” option on that ballot. The only candidate who still has an active campaign (active as of the day this column is being published, anyway) whose name is on that primary ballot is Nikki Haley.
(I’m assuming readers of this column don’t need an explanation of the caucus-primary nonsense, but just in case: Don’t be confused: Trump deliberately CHOSE not to be on the Nevada primary ballot.)
Lombardo could have just skipped the state-run primary. After all, that’s what Nevada State Republican Party chair and indicted fake elector Michael McDonald told Republicans to do last month while introducing Trump at a rally in Reno.
It would be interesting to know if Lombardo and his political handlers came up with the idea of voting for “none” all on their own, or if they were nudged in that direction in the course of the Trump team telling Lombardo to quit sitting on his hands and endorse Trump like a good little Republican governor.
Trump passing instructions to Lombardo through surrogates is not unprecedented. During the 2022 campaign when Lombardo renounced his own words and issued a gushing sycophantic statement declaring Trump great mere hours after he had said Trump wasn’t great, Lombardo’s publicly humiliating about-face was on the instructions of the chair of National Republican Committee, who was acting on behalf of a miffed Trump.
Haley, like nearly everyone else in the country, has shown zero interest in Nevada’s third spot on the Republican nominating calendar. And while Nevada polling is slight, what there is of it suggests a substantial majority of Nevada Republican voters suspect Trump is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If Trump were to instruct Nevada Republicans to vote for “none” in the primary, maybe “none” would get the most votes. Or maybe not. Come to think of, I’d like to see Trump try.
“None” might win even if Trump says nothing, the result of a plurality of Republican voters doing what they think would please Trump Almighty. There’s some social media chatter indicating a little movement in that direction.
But if “none” got the most votes, “none” still wouldn’t “win.”
Under state law, “Only votes cast for the named candidates shall be counted” for the purposes of declaring the winner of an election. In 2014, even though Goodman got fewer votes than “none,” he was still on the general election ballot as the Democratic nominee for governor. Goodman didn’t really have a campaign, but if he did, his campaign slogan totally should have been “Bob Goodman – Second to none!”
Of course, whether Haley wins the Nevada primary or comes in second to none doesn’t matter at all. The state Republican Party insisted on turning Nevada’s third spot on the nominating calendar into a sick joke and a mere quirky asterisk to the 2024 nominating process.
On the bright side (where I’m always looking), part 1… The Nevada State Republican Party is in charge of its perverse and rigged-from-the-start Trump-bespoke caucus, but neither it nor the Nevada State Democratic Party for that matter will be administering the election the nation will be watching – the general election in Nevada in November. That will be administered by state and county election officials.
On the bright side, part 2… Since Nevada is one of only a handful of battleground states that will decide the presidency, Lombardo is perfectly positioned to get quite a little bit more Trump on him than he would prefer. In what is going to be a repulsive campaign year, at least that part should be fun to watch.
A version of this column originally appeared in the Daily Current newsletter, which is free, and which you can (and should) subscribe to here.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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