Breaking story. Updates to follow.
Update I: Press Release from LPNV:
The Libertarian Party of Nevada Announces Nevada State Assemblyman John Moore has Joined their Party as the Highest Elected Official in Libertarian History
Libertarian Party of Nevada is hosting a Press Conference at 2:00 pm with Assemblyman John Moore, tech mogul John McAfee and HBO star Dennis Hof.
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, January 8, 2016– The Libertarian Party of Nevada (LPNevada), the fastest growing political party, providing common sense solutions to major issues announces Nevada State Assemblyman John Moore has joined the Libertarian Party of Nevada.
Assemblyman John Moore represents the 8th Assembly District of Nevada and is currently serving his first term in the Nevada State Assembly. Assemblyman John Moore will represent the Libertarian Party of Nevada in the State Legislature.
“The Libertarian Party of Nevada is proud to welcome Assemblyman John Moore to our Party and we fully support him,” said Libertarian Party of Nevada Chairman Brett H. Pojunis. “Everyone in the party is excited to have him on board and this is the first time in over 15 years the Libertarian Party has had an elected official at the state level. We have been working hard to build a viable option for voters in Nevada and this will help us to continue our exponential growth.”
“I first met some of the leaders of the Party during the last legislation session and I was really impressed,” said Assemblyman John Moore. “We started working together and before I decided to join the Libertarian Party they provided a lot of support for me. Since we started working together under the Libertarian Party banner I have received so much support and I am really looking forward to our future together.”
The Libertarian Party of Nevada is hosting a “media only” press conference today at 2:00 PM at Party headquarters where Assemblyman John Moore will officially address the media. In addition, the Libertarian Party of Nevada will introduce celebrity candidates John McAfee and Dennis Hof. This will be the first official Press Conference for tech mogul John McAfee since he announced he is running for the Libertarian Party nomination for U.S. President. Dennis Hof’s exploratory committee has determined which office Mr. Hof will run for and will announce at the Press Conference.
The Libertarian Party of Nevada is hosting a candidate Meet and Greet event which is open to the public tonight at 8:00 PM. Assemblyman John Moore, John McAfee and Dennis Hof will be in attendance. The event will be held at the Foundation Room (Shangri- La room) atop Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Media + Press Information
Please confirm your attendance in advance by emailing media@lpnevada.org. If you have any special needs, contact our media team. If you intend to film the event, space available is on a first-come first-serve basis. LPNevada will help to arrange interviews with all participants upon request.
Libertarian Party of Nevada Media + Press Contacts:
Jay Layman, Communications
Direct: 785.274.9369
jay.layman@lpnevada.org
Brett H. Pojunis, Chairman
Direct: 702.763.9301
brett.pojunis@lpnevada.org
Jason Weinman, Outreach Director
Direct: 702.763.9302
jason.weinman@LPNevada.org
About The Libertarian Party of Nevada
The Libertarian Party is the third largest and the fastest growing political party in America. Millions of Americans voted for Libertarian Party candidates in past elections. The Libertarian Party offers a viable alternative to the broken 2 party system in America. Libertarians believe the answer to America’s political problems are embracing a free-market economy and the abundance and prosperity it brings; a dedication to personal freedom and civil liberties that marks this country above all others; and a foreign policy of free trade, non-intervention, and peace as intended by America’s founders.
To learn more about LPNevada, visit www.LPNevada.org. Please follow LPNevada www.twitter.com/lpnevada and Like our Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/lpnevada.
Libertarian Party of Nevada Headquarters
1771 E. Flamingo Road
Suite 201 A
Las Vegas, Nevada 89119
Libertarian Party of Nevada
Membership: 702.664.8656
Office: 702.763.9300
info@lpnevada.org
Regardless of whether one supports McAfee or not, it’s really not obvious why he is at this event and other L prospects are not. Seems inappropriate on its face.
“as the Highest Elected Official in Libertarian History” I bet the previously elected state assemblyman would beg to differ.
Great news!
Good job by the Libertarian Party of Nevada and Brett Pojunis laying the groundwork to make this happen. Now let’s get him re-elected!
This is very exciting! WOOT NEVADA!
This was the big news? The news they described as “The largest announcement in Libertarian Party history?” Really?
It is big news. Let us not quibble over the headline.. really? Let’s just celebrate!
It is big news. Not strictly unprecedented. There have been elected Libertarian state reps before, but not in a long time, and there have been party-switching Reps before, but usually those on their way out the door who do it in protest (there was on in MI who did it over gay marriage not that long ago, but he didn’t seek re-election). Most of the ones elected as Libertarians, were as fusion R/L candidates in states that allowed that.
Moore is on his first term, and apparently intends to stick around as a Libertarian state legislator, and presumably seek re-election as a Libertarian.
So, somewhat over-promised, but only because they had set the bar so ridiculously high. Still great news.
Whenever anybody has any news on what Hof is running for, let us know.
Very good news.
The last time the LP had anyone in a seat in a state legislature was in 2000, but this person switched to Republican a few months into their term with the stated reason being that he disagreed with the party’s stance on gay marriage.
During the early and or mid 1990’s, the Libertarian Party at one point had four people elected to the New Hampshire legislature.
The LP also had four people elected to the Alaska state legislature in the 1980’s and/or early 1990’s.
Good point about district population size.
The one I was thinking of in MI, was a former State Rep. running to get a seat back in 2014. But he wasnt in office at the time and did not win. So… far and away, this would be the “highest ranking” LP state legislator if use district population as the tiebreaker.
A really good announcement, but certainly not the biggest announcement in the history of the party. This is a convert, and we’ve had them before at the state house level.
The bashing aside that I’m sure a certain person will do on reading my comment, the trick will be to re-elect him. My understanding is that a Libertarian has never been re-elected to a state-house seat, which is the accomplishment that is needed.
That said, I certainly hope that the Nevada LP is able to get him re-elected.
If this person is really and truly a libertarian I certainly hope the checkbooks come out to help him win re-election rather than spending precious resources on hopeless races. This is where it all begins… the lower house of a state legislature. I hope this is all sincere and not sham of some sort.
” My understanding is that a Libertarian has never been re-elected to a state-house seat, which is the accomplishment that is needed.” – Stewart Flood
Don’t tell that to Dick Randolph!
One was? Ok, then today’s announcement was FAR from the biggest in our history!
And I agree with you on where it begins. State House races and city/county council races are the most important to win. That is where you build from.
Well, to temper expectations, Moore was essentially a paper candidate running in a Dem district against an incumbent he had faced before (as a Democrat!). I think he spent less than $1K but pulled off a huge upset. But that was in an election when virtually all Dems underperformed and GOP underperformed in a low-turnout non-Presidential year.
His time in the actual Assembly wasn’t well reviewed. Most recently he was in the news for endorsing Cruz and Paul at same time. He claimed he didn’t really understand the process.
Having a standing representative under the LP banner is nice, but since the NV legislature only meets every other year, he won’t be in session as a Libertarian. And, given the makeup of his district, he won’t be there in 2017.
Probably something they shouldn’t have hyped so much.
Dang autocorrect. I meant “GOP overperformed.” Quite frankly, a lot of sketchy GOP campaigns pulled off huge upsets, including statewide races. Even Sharron Angle could have won something in 2014 if she had ran (and she probably is still kicking herself for sitting it out).
Stewart, Sheriff is another very important office for which Libertarians ought to run. Keep in mind that Libertarian Sheriffs can appoint Libertarian Deputies.
Another good office to strive for is County Commission/Board of Supervisors.
Jason Weinman responded to me on LPNV FB that Hof is running for State Senate District 15.
“as the Highest Elected Official in Libertarian History” – I’m assuming they mean in the history of the Libertarian Party of Nevada.
This is honestly fantastic news. The LP did have a Libertarian in the Rhode Island state house a few years ago, but he was basically expelled from the GOP and seemed a bit all over the place. I believe that guy was going to run for re-election, but failed to qualify for the ballot.
Assemblyman Moore (L-NV) appears to be a much more promising prospect!
Bo – Fair points, but… Nevada might hold a special legislative session this year.
Also, this suggests he raised about $30k for his winning campaign in 2014:
https://ballotpedia.org/John_Moore_(Nevada)
I agree that he almost certainly won’t win re-election as a Libertarian. To that end, the party might be better served if he could be steered into running for Congress.
Not that he’d win that race either, but he could hopefully make a half-way decent showing for a Libertarian and it might be a credibility-boosting campaign that the LP could try to highlight beyond just Nevada. Have the Presidential nominee come and campaign with him, etc.
According to the sources I’ve found, there have been a total of ten Libertarians elected to state house seats since the party was founded. I haven’t been able to verify the data, but it would fit with comments made earlier in this thread.
Reaching the point where someone “on the fence” feels comfortable with changing parties is certainly good.
I believe there were also LP state legislators in Alaska and New Hampshire back in the 90’s too. But for the Nevada LP, this indeed is big news and a big shot in the arm for them 🙂
If I understand it from ballotpedia.org
John Moore ran as a Democrat in 2012 and lost in the Primary to Jason Frierson
in 2014 John Moore ran as a Republican and defeated Jason Frierson in the general election.
ballotpedia claims that John More raised 30,600 for the 2014 race.
ballotpedia.org/John_Moore_(Nevada)#2014_3
No surprise, I can’t find a damn thing about this on the Nevada media.
Alaska state representatives were Dick Randolph, Ken Fanning (both elected in Fairbanks in multi member districts) and Andre Marrou (elected in a single member district on the Aleutians IIRC). Andre won in a three way race with a D and an R.
http://m.reviewjournal.com/columns-blogs/john-l-smith/new-lawmaker-law-breaker
Sheriff, Auditor, Clerk of Court, etc. All great races to run in. Soil and Water Commissions seem to be good targets as well. We have two elected Libertarians in South Carolina. Both are here in Charleston County, and are actually married to each other. Cathy Woolsey is in her third term on the County Soil and Water Commission, and Bill Woolsey is in his second term as Mayor of James Island.
Local elections can be won.
In terms of organizational strength and elected office-holders now, the LP has just leapfrogged over the IAP too 😉
Brett and his team have been working hard and deserve a lot of credit for making this happen. Hopefully Assemblyman Moore will be able to hold onto his seat and be a positive force in Nevada. Many congratulations to all!
The problem with local elections, Stewart, is nearly all of them are non-partisan… they never print the Libertarian name on the ballot near the person’s name.
True. But I know for a fact that when our local mayor was running he and the other candidates were asked their party affiliation during the main debate of the race. The others identified themselves as Republicans, while he identified himself as a Libertarian. He had also been our candidate for congress a few years earlier, so his affiliation was well known.
In the case of his wife, she has clearly been the most qualified candidate, and she’s won easily. When you run for an office that you are highly qualified for, against political hacks (i.e., NO qualifications), you can win. In her case, I am not sure if the majority of voters cared anything past the credentials of the candidates.
Local elections are non-partisan by law in South Carolina, but the affiliation is almost always public knowledge and printed in news reports and mentioned on the local television news.
Stewart, Soil and Water Commission is an office that few people care about or even know that it exists.
I am talking about offices where Libertarians could stand a chance of winning, and that have at least some visibility.
Sheriff is really one of the best offices for Libertarians to run for because Sheriffs have a lot of power and impact a lot of people’s lives. There are plenty of low population counties out there where Libertarians could potentially run competitive races for Sheriff.
Ok, I just forwarded this story to as many state and local media outlets as possible.
Here is the problem with local government boards/councils/commissions/committees: there is still not a high enough concentration of libertarians in one area to gain a majority on the local government boards in order for libertarians to “take over” a locality.
I have been in the LP for almost 20 years, and the LP has been electing small handfuls of people, spread out around the country, to local councils/boards/commissions/committees the entire time I have been in the party, and it has accomplished very little, not even in the way of publicity, as few people pay attention to these offices.
I agree that most people don’t care about Soil and Water Commissions, but the Ds and Rs in Charleston fight tooth and nail for every seat. They keep score cards of how many they have, and put out press releases on the number of years that they’ve had a majority. So around here it is a bit of a big deal to beat them.
I just checked and James Island (pop 33K) has a Mayor and four members of Council. And I was wrong, he’s been elected Mayor three times in a row now. 2010, 2012 and 2014. So one of five people is influence.
But Andy is completely correct in his assessment. We elect a handful here and there. I wish we could do better.
Congratulation to everyone involved and welcome to Mr. Moore.
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Stewart, I have heard about that Libertarian who got elected to the office of Mayor in James Island, SC. You said that there are 4 seats on the council for this city/tow. Has there been an effort to elect Libertarians to this council? It would be great to see Libertarians gain a majority there.
“city/town”
Should read, “city/town…”
I need to check and see how the current political makeup of the council is. They just held elections, and all four seats were up. I know that the town’s attitude on most issues is “leave us alone”, so my guess is that if they aren’t “outed” yet there are at least a few small l libertarians serving with him.
Great news! Congratulations to Nevada Libertarians and welcome to John Moore. I look forward to his next election.
Stewart, South Carolina cities are free to have partisan elections for city office if they wish. Greenville was partisan, then switched to non-partisan, then switched back again.
Andy Craig wrote:
I completely agree: great news; a bit overpromised… but only because they had set the bar so ridiculously high. This was not “the largest announcement in the history of the Libertarian Party”.
On the other hand, the national LP just sent out a news roundup and this didn’t even make the headline. That headline was “Gary Johnson announces; Newsweek covers McAfee; Texas & NC field candidates; and more”. The story was in the body of the email, so apparently “Assemblyman John Moore joins LP Nevada” was part of “and more”. At the very least they ought to have rewritten “and more” as “and Moore”.
Nick mentioned that a dedicated LNC press release would be coming.
Why do a press conference or a media release on Friday? Generally when the government wants to hide information or another organization does they send the info out on Friday.
That might be the logic on why the LNC hasn’t sent one out yet. Your guess is as good as mine.
They have to hold a referrendum. Charleston did that in 2000, getting rid of partisan elections. Riley had to hold an illegal election, run on the regular general election day on paper ballots with a second line and registration, that his city employees counted in secret to win it. (I was there and saw it and even got him to admit in a city council meeting that they broke the law)
Greenville is the only partisan municipal election in the state at this point. Any new town that forms is non-partisan.
But all county level elections except school board are partisan.
Wasn’t there a Libertarian state legislator in Rhode Island not that long ago?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_P._Gordon
Congrats to the NV LP, though I was secretly hoping it was Jabba…
I don’t think that legislator in Rhode Island was a real Libertarian. I recall him switching his registration status for some dubious reason.
Daniel P. Gordon, 3 in Alaska, 4 in NH, and now this one. 9 legislators for the LP by my count.
Good get by the LP.
Maybe he doesn’t have great odds at winning re-election, but if the national LP helps finance his re-election race and he runs for the same seat as an incumbent, you could very well keep the seat.
“I don’t think that legislator in Rhode Island was a real Libertarian. I recall him switching his registration status for some dubious reason.”
He was basically thrown out of the GOP. But yes, he was a “real” Libertarian. He claimed the label.
Trent Hill wrote:
Sounds like another Ed Coleman situation. But this time national finances are a lot tighter… where is the money going to come from?
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I am not against all Republican immigration to the Libertarian Party. But it needs to be done the right way. Republicans who love this party and want to join us, work, and protect and build this party belong here. But others just come to take advantage of us. They want to change our Libertarian way of life. The Republican party is not sending us their best. A blanket amnesty is not the right answer. I propose a work visa program and a pathway to full Libertarian membership and leadership. But until we can sort things out, we need to build a wall. And we should make the Republican Party pay for it.
What about Democrats? Are you for amnesty for them? And Greens? What about former members of the Reform Party, or even ex members of The Eagles or The Rolling Stones?
When the Republican Party formed in the mid-1850s what give it instant credibility with voters was the fact so many prominent Whigs in the North and some Democrats too, joined it, people like Seward, Lincoln, Greeley, Weed, Chase and Blair etc.. It wasn’t just another anti-slavery party, it had some heft to it with leaders people knew, voted for and trusted. Now, this is not the most important announcement in LP history but it goes to show how the party can build itself by recruiting backbench legislators from the major parties. Maybe this fellow is a fluke, but if he can join the LP and survives then other can too. It will important though, the national LP do its best to help this guy out as much as they can.
Good point, Sean.
Some more background on Moore:
In 2012, he ran in the Democratic primary against the same incumbent, and lost. In 2014, he ran as a Republican (no contested primary), and won the general election in an upset by 40 votes out of 8,334 votes cast. Only legislative ranking I could find is from NPRI, a center-right/free-market think tank, which ranked his voting record on taxes and spending positively using the NTU scoring system.
Then there’s also this, from the Nevada Policy Research Institute:
http://www.npri.org/docLib/201510281_The2015LegislativeSessionReviewandReportCard.pdf
Defining fight: Assembly leaders
wilt on property tax increase
On Feb. 4, 2015, Sens. Ben Kieckhefer and Becky Harris
went before the Sen. Government Affairs Committee
to present SB119, one of the most controversial bills of
the session. In what was to become a session theme, the
bill combined a massive tax increase with assurances that
money would now be spent more efficiently.
Under state law, Nevada school districts, in order
to issue bond debt, must first get voters’ approval. That
approval can authorize a school district to issue debt for
up to 10 years. As that bond debt is then paid off over a
20-year term, voters’ approval of new bonding determines
property tax rates for 30 years.
Because the 2008 economic downturn reduced
property tax values throughout Nevada, school districts
have faced limits on their ability to issue new bonds. Clark
County School District, for example, lacked authority,
having last received voter approval for bonds in 1998,
which expired in 2008. The district’s attempt in 2012 to
raise property tax rates for new school construction had
been crushed at the ballot box by a 2-to-1 ratio.40
SB119, however, proposed to “deem” past bonding
approvals by voters as also authorizing yet another 10 years
of bonding authority, if school trustees so voted.
Passage of the bill would thus extend existing property
tax rates to 2045, without a popular vote. In total, the
10
property tax increase authorized by the bill was over $4
billion in new debt, plus interest.41
To get conservatives to support that massive tax
increase, Kieckhefer and Harris included a provision to
eliminate prevailing wage requirements for all K-12, higher
education and charter-school construction projects.
The prevailing wage is a government-imposed mandate
that construction workers on public works projects receive
inflated wages. While prevailing wage laws are supposed to
reflect local market rates, they are calculated almost always
to reflect nominal union wage rates, which exceed Nevada
market wage rates by some 45 percent.42
Prevailing wage laws added almost $1 billion to the cost
of Nevada government construction projects just in 2009
and 2010.43 Researchers in Michigan found prevailing wage
laws increased construction costs 10 to15 percent.44
Whether the cost savings were 5 percent or 30 percent,
argued Kieckhefer, the tax money should be spent as
efficiently as possible to build more school buildings.45
Union workers filled the meeting room to protest the loss
of inflated wages on these construction projects.
Despite the protests, SB119 moved quickly though the
Senate, passing on a party-line vote on Feb. 16.46
Though interested in rolling back prevailing-wage
mandates, Assembly conservatives expressed concern about
increasing property taxes by billions of dollars without the
people voting.
Thus, when SB119 came up for a committee vote in
Assembly Government Affairs on March 3, it failed. Two
Republicans, John Moore and Glenn Trowbridge, joined six
Democrats to kill the bill. The unlikely coalition combined
the Republicans’ stated desire to stop the tax increase with
the Democrats’ desire to preserve the prevailing wage.47
After the vote was taken, Anderson pulled Moore out
of the hearing, and according to a police report later filed
by Moore, Anderson verbally assaulted and threatened him.
11
The Las Vegas Sun reported:
According to the complaint, the two went into a stairwell
after the vote. Anderson was 6 inches from Moore’s
face when he told the freshman legislator that “nobody
is going to support you, you are done, dead, you’re
finished.”
Moore asked him: “Are you trying to intimidate me,
threaten me?” Anderson said yes, according to the
complaint.
Moore pushed him aside and told him to never “try to
threaten or try to intimidate me ever again.” Anderson
chuckled, according to the complaint, and said “or else?”
Moore then pinned Anderson against a wall in the
stairwell with a door, his complaint said.48
After the altercation between Moore and Anderson, the
Government Affairs Committee reconsidered SB119 and
sent the bill to the Assembly floor without recommendation
There have been 13 Libertarian state legislators. Three in Alaska, six in New Hampshire, one in Nevada, one in Rhode Island, one in Vermont, and one in Louisiana.
The six in New Hampshire were (1) Calvin Warburton, who switched from Republican to Libertarian on July 16, 1991, and got re-elected as a Libertarian in 1992; (2) Finlay Rothhaus, who switched from Republican to Libertarian on December 12, 1991, and got re-elected as a Libertarian in 1992; (3) Andrew Borsa, who got elected as a Libertarian in 1992; (4) Don Gorman, who got elected as a Libertarian in 1992; (5) Jim McClarin, who got elected as a Libertarian in 1994; (6) Steve Vaillancourt, who got elected as a Libertarian in 2000.
The one in Vermont was Neil Randall, elected in 1998.
The one in Louisiana was Steve Gunn, who was elected on November 16, 1991. Because the Libertarian Party was not ballot-qualified then, he was not allowed to have “Libertarian” on the ballot. The state considered him an independent and thus gave him no ballot label at all. He was a dues-paying member of the Libertarian Party when he was elected. But he had changed his registration from “Libertarian” to “independent” just prior to filing as a candidate in 1991, so his is a somewhat ambiguous case.
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Does this guys district overlap, or is it in, Dennis Hof’s senate district race? Maybe the LP should run a full slate of candidates. May do better than the I.A.P. totals in past. Plus, like other posts the Sheriff races should all have candidates. The power, or abuse of power, in that position by the R’s and D’s over the years cannot be overstated.
John Moore is in Las Vegas and Dennis Hof is in Reno. Hundreds of miles separate them.
Hof is in Reno area and Moore in Clark County (Vegas).
Hof may do well (30-40%) due to the fact that the Dems do not have a candidate lined up, as the district is a GOP one. However, seeing how Hof is running, the Dems might change their minds and field one.The GOP candidate, Heidi Gansert is an establishment favorite and would be heavily favored in most any scenario. Granted, Hof, an IAP candidate and a strong Dem could make it interesting. But only in the sense of would Gansert still prevail over the Dem.
Moore is essentially toast. Quite frankly, I think that is why he changed parties. His district has the following registration numbers as of December 2015:
10,028 — Democrats
6,814 — Republicans
5,107 — Nonpartisan (NV’s terminology for independents)
989 — Independent American Party (essentially a Constitution Party offshoot)
190 — Libertarians
148 — Other (I’m guessing mostly Green)
In a Presidential-year election, the turnout will guarantee a Democratic victory. 2014 was a very fluky year. Total votes for this district in 2014 was less than half of what they were in 2012! There was a huge turnover in the Assembly. The Democrats won’t allow that to happen this year.
@Stewart Flood.wrote: “What about Democrats? Are you for amnesty for them? And Greens? What about former members of the Reform Party, or even ex members of The Eagles or The Rolling Stones?”
There are particular problems in bringing in Republicans, especially if we don’t have the procedures in place to properly vet them.
According to Pew Research, among others, there is great hatred towards Libertarians by large segments of the Republican population. Most recently, a poll from the Center for Security Policy released data showing “25% of those polled agreed that violence against Libertarians, including drowning, is justified as a part of the Presidential campaign” and 51% of those polled “agreed that Republicans in America should have the choice of being governed according to Moolah law.”
It is well known that the Republican Party promotes Moolah over the Constitution.
They’re bringing their big government politicians. They’re bringing their delusional narcissistic washed up wannabe celebrities. They’re bringing their socially reactionary, warmongering tea party rejects. They’re bringing their wife beaters and angry violent drunks. And some, I assume, are good people.
Aren’t they all violent?
Maybe they can just wear a patch or something so we know who they are?
I hear they reproduce faster too. It is the way to conquer.
Can’t we take care of our disabled Libertarians first?
Again, I don’t want to be a downer but, as a Nevadan, I do want to set the record straight on a few things.
First, the Ballotpedia $30K raised quote is very misleading. For the actual race, Moore only raised $800. $500 came from a conservative Republican assemblyman and $200 from a GOP Leadership PAC. And, those amounts only came in two weeks before the election. He literally had $0 in contributions and expenses as of October 14, 2014!
The $30K figure was the spoils of victory. Once he won, checks poured in from fellow Republicans (who, pointedly, didn’t bother earlier), casinos and other industries and groups with agendas.
Here are Moore’s NV SOS C&E reports:
10/31/14 — http://nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=cvtvLxbLV9TOrREfh30GRQ%253d%253d
1/15/15 — http://nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=C3PdvNUKSMyal%252b%252be0Cbofw%253d%253d
So I think before people start suggesting the LP should pour some money into this race, one really needs to look at the facts. Moore raised no individual donor money as a Republican, didn’t spend anything until the final week (so I doubt signage was used) and only won because of an insanely low voter turnout and he had “REP” after his name. That won’t happen in 2016.
Quite frankly, if you look at his C&E reports, he spent more than double at Mens Warehouse ($1,633.66) for what I assume was a raft of victory suits, than he did on his campaign. Plus, he gave $3K to his girlfriend for “staff work.” They, apparently, were huge Michael Jackson fans as this LA Times story notes: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/michael-jacksons-death-1.html
Now, granted, he may still have $25K or so in the bank, and maybe even added more during the 2015 session (no reports have been filed). If that is the case, then maybe Moore’s biggest benefit for the NV LP is donating those dollars to fellow LP candidates for a strong signage presence for them.
I wonder if Heidi Gansert will run ads against Dennis Hof’s business. This is truly an interesting race to watch. A women Republican running in race against a man that has a business that has women doing a business in prostitution, which is legal in Nevada. The Republican party states Family Values but also Pro-business. Is she Pro-Life, Pro-Family, against Gay marriage, against gambling etc?
If Dennis Hof wins this race he should look at running for Governor of Nevada. He could do well in Las Vegas with being classified as “Sin City” and all. Gambling, strippers, all types of vice. Nevada should rename their state Live Free of Die instead of New Hampshire’s mantra if he wins.
Correction: Meant to say Live Free or Die. Chuckle.
Gansert was a moderate who easily won her assembly seat in the past. Sometimes with zero opposition. She also worked for Gov. Sandoval. She is generally well-liked by Dems as well. I really don’t see any chance at all for Hof to win. If the GOP put up a Tea-Party candidate instead, or a Moore, Hof could make it interesting. Now if a Dem jumps into the race, Hof could be a spoiler. But he has no chance to win.
He will, though, get a lot of free publicity for his brothels and TV show. I think most political insiders here thought he was going to run for the U.S. Senate (Reid’s old seat). Him choosing a state senate race was generally considered a letdown. I know he would have gotten a lot more national publicity if he chose the U.S. Senate race.
Perhaps the NV LP didn’t want to hurt the GOP’s chances for the big one? In the past they have taken this approach.
If the IAP doesnt run a candidate here (and they shouldn’t), and the Republicans and Democrats both do, Moore (as the incumbent) will have a real shot. Especially if he raises more money than the others (Should be the case with the support of the LP). It can be done, and should.
More likely it will only be a Dem opponent in that district.
That bodes less well. But still not bad–he’d get IAP, Libertarian, and most independent and Republican votes. Those add up to more than the Democratic votes.
Almost half the registered voters in Moore’s district are Democrats. If a Republican and a Democrat both ran Moore will lose by even more.
Remember, he was a paper candidate who literally raised no money when he was a Republican (that $30K mentioned above was gifted to him after he had won). The Democrat he beat raised $295K in 2014. Yes a candidate who ran on $800 (late donations) and did no campaigning beat an incumbent you spent almost $300K, which should give a smidgen of hope to all. But he had the biggest donation of all in 2014 — an historically-low voter turnout and a “REP” after his name.
The Democratic candidate in 2016 will also raise six-figures, campaign harder than the previous one and have a Presidential-year election with a high Dem turnout. The Republicans will again not bother with a serious candidate in the district, though another paper one may put his name on the ballot.
Has the LP ever raised $300K for even a nationwide slate of state legislature candidates, let alone one? I doubt it, and that would be what it would take to even begin to sniff competitiveness in this race.
Also, the IAP runs candidates no matter what the consequences for conservative Republicans. In fact, they might do it just to say they can beat an incumbent (which they probably would).
“That bodes less well. But still not bad–he’d get IAP, Libertarian, and most independent and Republican votes. Those add up to more than the Democratic votes.”
That would take 100% of each to win. Will not happen. Most independents will vote Dem in this district. It will not even be close. For one thing, Moore won’t have the usual advantage of incumbency since Nevada’s big donors know he is going to lose and the GOP isn’t going to spend a dime. Quite frankly, I doubt even 5% of his district could even name him as their legislator. The only thing he may have going for him is the money he was given after he won. But who knows how much of that is left. Maybe his girlfriend/staffer has tapped most of that by now.
The cold, hard facts are he ran a paper campaign as a Democrat in 2012, a paper campaign as a Republican in 2014 and will now do the same as a Libertarian in 2016.
But, yes, the LP can add a state legislator to their totals, which is something.
Unless they implement an intelligent game plan, Moore and Hof will likely lose in 2016. I am hoping for an intelligent game plan and two Libertarians in the Nevada legislature.
Me: Son, when are you going to settle down and get married? You should take responsibility to grow our family and carry on the Feldman name.
Son: Dad, I have the best news ever!
Me: You got engaged?
Son: No, but I found a very nice girl who is willing to change her name to Feldman.
It’s not the same.
Marc Allan Feldman,
You comment reminded me of a pinned tweet by Greg Swann.
To save the West, save the family. Fathers are the hoplites in that war. @instapundit, @kshaidle, @MarkSteynOnline
http://bit.ly/FathersDayKindle
https://twitter.com/gswann/status/477902826187001858
http://selfadoration.com/women-cant-fix-marriage-and-family-only-men-can-my-new-book-fathers-day-shows-how/5663
Andy,
Thank you for the positive words. I hope that Moore and Hof follow an intelligent game plan as well. If you were to talk with one of them what would you say step one in an intelligent game plan would be?
“Unless they implement an intelligent game plan, Moore and Hof will likely lose in 2016. I am hoping for an intelligent game plan and two Libertarians in the Nevada legislature.”
I’m pretty sure both will lose by plenty. Not sure how much campaigning Hof will actually do, but he is the consummate master of getting free publicity from the Reno news for his brothel and occasional forays into politics (I remember his “Pimpin’ for Paul” promotion from a few years back). But will he put in the actual ground work, I don’t know. He might just try the Trump campaign plan. But Gansert is a heavy favorite no matter who faces her. Running for U.S. Senate would have been the much smarter move as the national media would jump on it. But maybe the LP doesn’t want to hurt the GOP in what will be a tight race.
Moore, though, will have to show something he hasn’t done in his prior parties and actually campaign. He won’t be treated as an incumbent by the media or big donors so will have to work. Quite frankly, if a Republican fields a candidate, I would be surprised if Moore cracked double digits in votes. If it is just a Dem, perhaps the usual 30% protest vote. Maybe 35-40% if he actively campaigns.
Getting more people to register as Libertarian in their districts. Outreach to independents and non-voters (get sympathetic non-voters to register to vote). Door-to-door canvassing. Campaign in favor of the marijuana initiative that is going to be on the Nevada ballot this fall, and campaign against the gun control initiative that is going to be on the ballot. Campaign against the big tax increase that Republicans passed last year.
Those are some good places to start.
“Getting more people to register as Libertarian in their districts. Outreach to independents and non-voters (get sympathetic non-voters to register to vote). Door-to-door canvassing. Campaign in favor of the marijuana initiative that is going to be on the Nevada ballot this fall, and campaign against the gun control initiative that is going to be on the ballot. Campaign against the big tax increase that Republicans passed last year.
Those are some good places to start.”
Agreed. But not too many bother to do the hard work. I believe Libertarian James Dan polled 45% in a two-way race against a Democrat back in 2000. I think it threw a scare in the Dems the next election and Dan’s vote total dropped. But he worked his campaign.
How libertarian is this John Moore guy anyway? How libertarian is his voting record?
He voted against taxes and was part of the tea-party branch of the NV GOP. But he was also a Democrat until 2014.
Now even I hate to give accolades for doing stuff better than me or my team but god-damn! Well fucking done LPN and particularly Brett. I think announcing at 1 time, a party flip for an elected assemblyman , the senate run of an infamous brothel owner with built-in media and finances who can actually win , and the POTUS run of our very own billionairre a pretty big fucking deal, and remember this IS las vegas, LPN intends to parlay this into something bigger
John Moore attended a vetting speed dating event of LPN’s . Lest you think these were easy , they were not. This was for the purpose of educated voting where there was no Lib candidate.He scored well , how Libertarian is he? Does it matter ? Im sure hes not as Libertarian as most of us, he’s new , but rest assured , AS ALWAYS , our inherent nature will make him more so and not us less so
John McAfee is NOT a billionaire. He was worth $100 million at one time, but he lost at least 96% of his wealth, mostly due to bad investments. His wealth was estimated at around $4 million, but he may have less than that now.
Bottom line: He is not that rich (if he is even rich at all anymore), and he has nowhere the kind of money it would take to impact a presidential race.
I would say that it does matter how libertarian this John Moore guy is. I am not saying that he has to be an capitalist / voluntaryist, but he should at least be libertarian enough to where most LP members would regard him as an actual libertarian.
Plus, most people who know of McAfee now think of him as a paranoid fugitive. Not exactly the face of the party most would wish for.
I meant to say, “anarcho-capitalist / voluntaryist” in the comment above about John Moore, not that he has to be one, but rather that he should be pretty libertarian if he is going to wear the Libertarian label.
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