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NV Dems Voter Guide

Government and Politics

November 4, 2024


Vice President Kamala Harris, Senator Jacky Rosen, and Democrats down the ballot have been laser-focused on the issues that matter most to hardworking Nevadans. From guarding fundamental rights such as abortion and Social Security to fighting to lower the costs of prescription drugs and housing and keeping our communities safe. They’ve taken on corporate interests and fought for middle-class families. 

In contrast, the NVGOP’s MAGA extremist candidates are out of touch on the issues that matter most to Nevadans. These extremists are in lockstep with Trump’s Project 2025 agenda that would enact a nationwide abortion ban, force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions, cut Social Security and Medicare, repeal the Affordable Care Act, and eliminate the Department of Education, among other dangerous policy priorities, which would devastate hard-working families.

Here’s where candidates stand on the issues: 

On Reproductive Rights: 

Vice President Kamala Harris has been the leading voice for the Biden-Harris Administration on reproductive health and will fight to restore the protections of Roe v. Wade, access to contraception, and support for IVF care. While legislative Democrats passed protections for Reproductive care, the vast majority of Republicans voted against AB383, which would have protected Nevadans’ access to contraception, and every single Republican in the legislature voted against moving to enshrine IVF protections and the right to an abortion in the state constitution. Read more HERE

Senator Jacky Rosen has consistently stood up for Nevadans’ reproductive freedom and fought back against extreme Republicans’ attempts to ban abortion: 

  • Urged the Supreme Court to rule that hospitals must provide emergency care, including abortion care to patients in life-threatening situations.

  • Helped introduce the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify the protections of Roe v. Wade in federal law.

  • Introduced and voted for the Right to Contraception Act, which would guarantee every woman’s right to birth control.

  • Championed legislation to protect doctors from being prosecuted for providing reproductive care to their patients and block states from restricting any woman’s ability to travel for abortion care.

Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown has a decade-long anti-abortion record that makes clear he is a direct threat to Nevadans’ reproductive rights and would be a vote to ban abortion nationwide. He: 

  • Supported the extreme Texas abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest that was considered one of the “toughest restrictions in the country.” 

  • Said that his anti-abortion stance was “non-negotiable.”
  • Pushed to overturn Roe v. Wade and said he would only vote to confirm anti-abortion judges.
  • Served as the Nevada president of an extreme anti-choice organization that called Roe v. Wade a “moral atrocity” and praised Texas’ six-week abortion ban.
    • Brown failed to disclose this role on his candidate financial disclosure, and after a complaint was filed, the Nevada Faith & Freedom Coalition abruptly scrubbed all mentions of Sam Brown from its website.
  • Got caught on tape opposing and spreading dangerous misinformation about Nevada’s ballot measure to enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution.

  • Was caught “quietly” attending a gala for Nevada Right to Life, a radical anti-choice group that “opposes abortion at all stages of pregnancy” and has praised abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest. Brown is now enthusiastically endorsed by that same organization. 

NV-01’s Mark Roberston is an anti-abortion extremist who:

  • Supported overturning Roe v. Wade, paving the way for Republicans to pass a nationwide abortion ban that would supersede current abortion protections in Nevada.

In NV-03, Drew Johnson has deepened his embrace of the far-right Freedom Caucus, a group that supports the Life at Conception Act which would ban abortion and IVF nationwide, and:

  • Refused to answer whether or not he would support Nevada’s ballot initiative to protect reproductive freedom.
  • Supported the Dobbs decision saying, “abortion policy is appropriately in the hands of the states,” which has led to dangerous abortion bans across the country.

  • When asked if he would join the Freedom Caucus, he said, “I have the endorsement of several members of the Freedom Caucus already. I believe that the Freedom Caucus shares the same values that I do, and I will be happy to do it.” Notable caucus members have said they’ll file an amendment that would ban funding for the use of IVF for servicemembers and their families because it is “morally wrong.”

NV-04’s John Lee praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade and promised to govern as the most pro-life governor in Nevada history during a failed gubernatorial run, and: 

  • Announced that he would take drastic steps to eliminate abortion rights in Nevada, promising to support a near-total abortion ban.

  • In 2021, Lee wrote an op-ed in the Gazette-Journal calling to “end the atrocity of abortion,” and saying that Dobbs v. Jackson was “a case I pray will overturn Roe v. Wade and deliver a historic victory for our nation, the unborn and the global pro-life movement.”

On Economy

Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz are fighting to lower costs for hardworking Nevadans and will create an Opportunity Economy that expands the expense deduction from $5,000 to $50,000 for entrepreneurs starting a new business, providing $6,000 in tax relief for middle-income and low-income families for the first year of their child’s life, and provide working families who have paid their rent on time for two years and are buying their first home up to $25,000 in down-payment assistance, putting more money back in the pockets of middle-class families. Vice President Harris and Governor Walz will fight to raise the minimum wage, end the sub-minimum wage for tipped workers and people with disabilities, and eliminate taxes on tips for service and hospitality workers, helping put more money into workers’ pockets.

Senator Jacky Rosen’s economic agenda is focused on doing what’s best for hard working Nevadans. She:

  • Took on big drug companies to help pass a new law that successfully capped the cost of insulin at $35 per month for seniors and gave Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices.

Sam Brown’s disastrous economic agenda that will raise costs for Nevada’s working families while giving more handouts to the ultra-wealthy and giant corporations. He: 

  • Pushed to extend massive tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy and giant corporations at the expense of small businesses and the middle class. 

  • Explicitly stated his support for a Republican Balanced Budget Amendment that would virtually guarantee massive cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

  • Supported Senator Rand Paul’s widely criticized proposal that would drastically cut spending on every government program – including Social Security and Medicare.

  • Supported extreme economic plans that would force massive cuts to federal spending, impacting Social Security and Medicare and devastating hardworking families.

On Affordable Housing:

Vice President Harris has the goal of building more housing and lowering housing and rental costs for American families. Her plan calls for the construction of 3 million new housing units in the next four years, outlines actions for creating a fairer rental market, and proposes $25,000 in downpayment support for first-time homeowners. 

While Senator Rosen has worked to lower housing prices by cracking down on corporate investors who are buying up housing stock in Nevada and driving up costs, Sam Brown called on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates “at a much more aggressive level,” which would further increase the already high cost of housing in Nevada. When pushed on how this move could actively plunge the economy into a recession, Brown admitted that his plan wouldn’t be “pretty or easy.”

Last legislative session, Democrats passed and Republicans voted against several bills that would have lowered housing costs and kept hard-working Nevadans in their homes. At the time, Republicans – whose senate caucus is overwhelmingly made up of landlords and real estate agents – said the legislation “created onerous burdens on landlords.” As a result, Las Vegas now has one of the highest eviction rates in the country. Read more HERE.

On Health Care:

Sam Brown’s disastrous health care agenda would eliminate coverage for thousands of Nevadans with pre-existing conditions could lose out on critical protections and force them to pay higher premiums, and companies would be allowed to charge older Americans thousands of dollars more and deny coverage to patients with pre-existing conditions like asthma, diabetes, and cancer. He: 

  • Repeatedly pushed to repeal the Affordable Care Act, including:
    • Saying that the Affordable Care Act was not something to “adopt or support in any way, shape, or form.” 
    • Making attacking the Affordable Care Act one of the main tenets of his health care policy on current and past campaign websites. 
    • Proudly supporting Donald Trump, who has long *****-must-replaced-rcna126978">advocated for repealing the Affordable Care Act.

  • Called the legislation to lower prescription drug costs by capping insulin costs at $35 per month for seniors and giving Medicare the power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices a “big loss for the American people.” 

  • Got caught on tape saying he admired an extreme plan that would phase out Social Security and Medicare in five years – calling it a “roadmap for a better America.” 

  • Explicitly stated his support for a Republican Balanced Budget Amendment that would virtually guarantee huge cuts to Medicare.

  • Supported Senator Rand Paul’s “Penny Plan,” a widely criticized proposal that would drastically cut spending on every government program – including Medicare.

Nevadans can’t trust NV-01 extremist Mark Robertson to protect their hard-earned benefits like Medicare and Social Security:

  • Robertson wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would rip away health care from nearly 400,000 Nevadans and repeal protections for millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions like asthma and cancer, so insurance companies can deny them coverage.

Drew Johnson has shown he doesn’t care for Nevada’s seniors, as he has engaged in an all-out-war on seniors, and:

  • Believes that Social Security is a “failed policy” that turns beneficiaries into a burden on our economy, opposes allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, and wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

  • Thinks that anyone who relies on Social Security for their retirement is not a “responsible adult,” rather they are a “socialist suckling off the teat of gov’t.”

  • One of his key priorities is raising the retirement age and cutting Social Security by nearly 30%, or, as he likes to code it, “making the program solvent.”

Republicans in the state legislature put special interests above hardworking Nevada families when they voted against AB250, which would have lowered the cost of prescription drugs in Nevada. While Democrats passed AB250, Joe Lombardo vetoed the bill and then raked in nearly $100,000 in campaign cash from big drug companies. Read more HERE

On Education:

Sam Brown has an extreme plan to fully eliminate the Department of Education, putting critical funding for Nevada schools, students, and teachers at risk. He: 

  • Has repeatedly called to eliminate the Department of Education, including:
    • Saying he would get rid of federal agencies that have a state-level counterpart – specifically citing the Department of Education as one he would eliminate. 
    • Saying “I think that we need to see a major reduction and potentially even an elimination of the Department of Education eventually.”
    • Agreeing that the Department of Education should be eliminated and said the idea “needs to be a bigger part of the conversation” in politics.

  • Supported plans to force massive spending cuts across federal departments that would threaten the critical education funding that Nevada relies on.
    • Brown has acknowledged that his proposed federal spending cuts would be “painful.”

Last legislative session, Republicans voted against a record $11.1 billion education budget that included a historic 26% increase in education funding, record per-pupil funding, aided in the hiring of more teachers, increased teacher pay, and covered the cost of school supplies so teachers don’t have to come out-of-pocket for their classroom needs. Even worse, Republicans chose to leave Nevada students hungry when they voted against AB319 which guaranteed school meals for all public school students. Read more HERE.

On Gun Violence Prevention:

Sam Brown has a long history of far-right policies and refusing to support commonsense gun safety measures. He:

  • Mocked gun safety reforms 
  • Opposed any “middle ground” on gun safety measures – making clear he would have opposed the bipartisan Safer Communities Act in the Senate
  • Repeatedly refused to support bipartisan legislation banning the sale of bump stocks – deadly devices used to maximize violence during the 1 October mass shooting in Las Vegas
  • Attacked red flag laws (also known as Extreme Risk Protection Orders) that help de-escalate emergency situations when a person is in crisis to prevent mass shootings and other tragedies
  • Supported “ghost guns,” 3-D printed firearms that are untraceable and evade manufacturing standards

Despite Republican opposition, Democrats in the state legislature advanced legislation to make communities safer, sending gun violence prevention bills to Lombado’s desk – legislation widely supported by a majority of Nevadans, but Lombardo sold out Nevada families to the extreme gun lobby by vetoing these bills, including one that would have made our communities safer by cracking down on untraceable, unregulated weapons known as ghost guns.

AB354, a bill that would have reduced the number of unregulated weapons known as ghost guns on our streets and would have criminalized bringing a gun within 100 feet of an election site.

On the heels of Lombardo’s veto, the Nevada State Supreme Court upheld AB286, the state’s 2021 law banning the sale and possession of ghost guns, proving that the excuse Lombardo gave for vetoing AB354 was another flimsy, politically motivated cover-up.