Basque Fry event bolsters Republican Laxalt in tight U.S. Senate race

About 1,500 conservatives attended the seventh annual Basque Fry on a sunny Saturday outside Gardnerville, listening to live music, eating, drinking and getting inspiration from Republican speakers such as South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Texas U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

The Corley Ranch event, put on by the Morning in Nevada political action committee, was mostly aimed at promoting Adam Laxalt’s challenge against Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto.

“I believe the single best pickup opportunity for Republicans in the Senate is Nevada,” Cruz said.

The race could decide control of the U.S. Senate, which right now is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, 50-50. “Conservative leadership matters” was a mantra, with COVID-19 casting a heavy shadow.

Two Republican governors who did not shut down their states during the pandemic – Noem and Nebraska’s Pete Ricketts – spoke about the differences between their approaches and Nevada’s Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak, who shut down nonessential businesses and ordered mask mandates after an emergency declaration. Sisolak is up for re-election this year, facing Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

Ricketts pointed out that — according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ latest figures —Nebraska is currently 2nd best in the nation for unemployment while South Dakota is 6th and Nevada is 49th.

Noem got a sustained and enthusiastic standing ovation for a casual, upbeat address that asked three things of the crowd:

• When asked to help Republican candidates, say yes.

• Get over yourselves. Stop being so offended all the time and talk to people – especially family – who have different views.

• And be happy. “We will draw people to us by our optimism,” she said.

President Trump’s claims of victory in 2020 was a muted topic, although many attendees wore “Trump Won” shirts and hats.

Cortez Masto’s campaign sent out a statement Saturday morning about the Basque Fry, tying Laxalt to Trump’s claims.

“Adam Laxalt led the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and stop the peaceful transfer of power, and he wants the power to do so this fall if he doesn’t like the election results,” said Cortez Masto’s campaign spokesman Josh Marcus-Blank.

Reno attorney Joey Gilbert’s claim of victory in the Republican governor’s 2022 primary was barely a topic. A judge rejected Gilbert’s complaint as having no “competent evidence” to support it. For the few speakers who vaguely referenced his challenge, it was something to move past in order to flip offices to the Republican Party.

From the stage, Lombardo called this controversy “the elephant in the room,” admitting it was a highly contested primary race.

“No matter who you voted for,” he said, “we’ve got to get past that. It’s vital to be successful in November and change the path of the state of Nevada.”

Every speaker fired up the audience for Laxalt, who served as Nevada’s attorney general from 2015-19 and announced his Senate candidacy at last year’s Basque Fry.

After bringing out his wife and four children, Laxalt told the crowd, “If you elect me, I’m going to be able to join Senator Cruz and others, and we’re going to be the 51st vote to start reversing this madness (of Biden’s leadership). We’re gonna push to secure the border, we’re gonna stop spending money, and we need to defund the 87,000 IRS agents.”