In my opinion, and from a conservative perspective, the 2025 session of the Nevada Legislature was the second worst I’ve seen over the last thirty years.
The worst, of course, was the 2015 session, when RINO Gov. Brian Sandoval and gaggle of RINO legislators shoved the largest tax hike in state history down our throats.
This year, the Democrats again controlled both the State Senate and State Assembly and proceeded to pass bill after bill designed to move Nevada closer and closer to becoming “East California.”
The only thing standing in their way was Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo – who ended up breaking his own record, set in 2023, for the highest number of vetoes by any governor in state history.
But that’s pretty much the same script from that 2023 session. So what made this session so much worse?
Republican legislators.
Today, Citizen Outreach released its conservative ratings for the 2025 session of the Nevada Legislature.
The highest score by any Democrat was a mere 3.45%. No surprise there. Every one of them is a Bolshevik.
No, the real story isn’t that Democrats passed a bunch of bad bills that Lombardo was forced to veto.
The real story is the number of Republican legislators who voted WITH the Democrats to pass bad bills which Lombardo had to veto.
Here are some observations on the ratings:
First, the #1 conservative legislator was Assemblywoman Jill Dickman with a stellar 95.16% score – which comes as no surprise. She has been a model of conservative consistency and SHOULD have been elected as head of the Assembly Republican Caucus.
But the moderates froze her out.
The #1 conservative in the upper house was Sen. Robin Titus with 91.94% rating – again, no surprise. Her voting record has been consistent, even when she was in the Assembly.
The two senators with the lowest conservative ratings were Sen. John Steinbeck (67.74%) and Sen. Lori Rogich (64.52%). Both were freshmen trying to get their political sea legs, but here’s the thing…
Rogich is the only Senate candidate who FLIPPED a blue seat last year!
Yes, she had a moderate voting record this session – but she was the most conservative candidate WHO COULD WIN her district. And her win kept Republicans out of a super-minority.
So we can give her a pass this time. But the same can’t be said about Sen. Steinbeck.
He’s in a GOP-majority district that has some 4,500 more Republicans than Democrats. He simply does NOT have to vote with the Democrats a third of the time in order to win in this district.
A big and surprising disappointment was Sen. Ira Hansen in Washoe County with a 77.97% rating. He represents a rock-solid GOP district yet fell below Reagan’s 80% threshold to be considered a conservative ally.
Back to the Assembly…
Minority Leader Greg Hafen chalked up a solid 90.32% rating, but there’s more to the story.
Back at the start of the session, Hafen had the opportunity to unite his caucus by including conservative members on his leadership team. But instead of philosophically bringing his caucus together, he barred all conservative members from his inner circle.
And the ones he put in those positions instead?
All came in at the bottom of the list for Republicans, and all fell under the 80% threshold.
Deputy Minority Leader (South) Melissa Hardy at 75.81%, Minority Whip Toby Yurek at 75.41%, and Deputy Minority Leader (North) Greg Koenig at the very bottom with 74.19%.
All three are in rock-solid GOP districts, so there’s absolutely no excuse for having such low scores.
Two others – Lisa Cole and Danielle Gallant – also fell under 80%, tied at 75.81%.
Cole was a freshman and represents a “swing” district with a slight GOP advantage. So we can cut her some slack – especially considering how bad her caucus leaders were.
But Gallant represents a rock-solid GOP district with almost 10,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. So her moderate voting record makes no sense from a “most conservative candidate who can win” perspective.
Sadly, the Assembly Republican Caucus was a hot mess from Day One. No leadership. No strategic plan. No fight. Lousy communications.
That’s the fault of Hafen, Hardy, Koenig, and Yurek. All four should be ousted from their “leadership” positions next session.
Or better yet, maybe all should be ousted from office completely and replaced with conservatives who are willing to be the OPPOSITION party, not the go-along-to-get-along surrender party.
That’s what primaries are for.
To download Citizen Outreach’s full 2025 Conservative Ratings of the Nevada Legislature – including the bill numbers used to compile the list – CLICK HERE.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“Some content-free Republican elected public officials and party leaders will have to be replaced before the party can be reliable for conservative principles. Only a critical mass of principled conservatives and libertarians can preserve and advance their principles and only if they work together and do not compromise in ways which accept the left’s power grabs as permanent.” – Conservative icon Richard Viguerie
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com. His views are his own.
