(Chuck Muth | Muth’s Truths) – On Wednesday night, two weeks before the start of the 2025 legislative session, Nevada Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo essentially declared: “Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines.”
In his 2025 State of the State Address, Lombardo reached his hand across the aisle and asked for bipartisan cooperation; usual for such speeches.
But the responses were also pretty much expected.
The Good
For rational and pragmatic conservatives, the governor’s speech was a rallying cry for limited government, personal responsibility, and freedom.
“Governor Lombardo continues to advocate for working class Nevadans,” said Sen. Jeff Stone (R-Clark). “He continues to ‘get stuff done’ but emphasizes ‘we’ instead of I. Politics is a team sport and Governor Lombardo is a great Captain of our successful team.”
“The governor’s strong message on fighting crime, election integrity, and school choice was met with thunderous applause,” conservative Assemblywoman Jill Dickman (R-Washoe) said of the speech. “I will fight tooth and nail to get these measures passed through the Assembly.”
“I hope that legislative leadership puts partisan politics aside and Nevadans first,” added conservative Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant (R-Clark). “They voted for the governor’s leadership and his policies, and the Legislature should deliver it to them.”
“Gov. Lombardo is a tremendous leader,” wrote conservative Assemblywoman Lisa Cole (R-Clark). “I firmly support his path to prosperity and hope my Democrat colleagues will as well. We are all Nevadans.”
“Tonight our governor laid out a bold vision to keep our state moving forward,” wrote Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald on Twitter/X. “Our state is fortunate to have a Joe Lombardo as our governor. We must re-elect him in 2026.”
The Bad
However, Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Victor Joecks – who seems to have more of a personal beef with the governor than philosophical – played “turd in the punchbowl” and trashed the address.
“Bottom line: Ds should be thrilled with this speech,” Joecks wrote on Twitter/X. “Major missed opportunities — no tax cuts, barely a passing mention of school choice, didn’t defend women’s sports.”
“I know Rs will defend Lombardo by saying he’s better than Sisolak,” Joecks continued. “But look at the difference a bold conservative governor like (Florida Gov.) Ron DeSantis or (Virginia Gov.) Glenn Youngkin can make.”
“Nevada is turning red because of Trump and his agenda,” Joecks concluded. “Instead of following Trump’s playbook, Lombardo is rerunning Dean Heller’s 2018 Senate campaign. That’s a mistake.”
As is so often the case when Victor wades into political waters, he’s over his head.
What he continually fails to acknowledge is that DeSantis and Youngkin had Republican-majority legislatures when they enacted their conservative agendas.
Lombardo, on the other hand, is just one seat away from Democrats having SUPER-MAJORITIES in both the State Senate and State Assembly.
Duh.
And as Nevada News & Views correspondent Brittany Sheehan pointed out in her Twitter/X responses to Victor’s chirping…
“Your analysis is off. Nevada elected Joe before they ever elected Trump. And not just as governor, either. He didn’t ride Trump’s coattails then, nor now. Nevadans elected him to be Joe.
“I’ll add that Sam Brown, Adam Laxalt, Singally Chatter, Michele Fiore, and Jim Merchant all took on Trump branding and were rejected by Nevada voters. Some more than others.
“No, doing Trumpy stuff isn’t the key to winning a very independent-minded voter base. Gov. Lombardo doesn’t need to be Ron DeSantis, Glen Youngkin or Donald Trump. He needs to be Joe. He needs to deliver results and not rhetoric. That’s why he was elected.”
Couldn’t put it any better myself. No wonder we hired her!
The Ugly
It took only minutes after Gov. Lombardo finished his State of the State address for Democrat Assembly Speaker Steve “Marco Polo” Yeager to slap away his out-stretched hand and spit in his eye.
His “hostage video” response was a masterclass in fluff, misdirection, and self-congratulation. Let’s break down some of the highlights—or lowlights—of his response.
Yeager: “Our kids have the right to a world-class, publicly funded education.”
This one is rich. Democrats pat themselves on the back for throwing buckets of cash at the education system for years. But the results? Near the bottom of national rankings.
Lombardo, on the other hand, wants to give parents the power to choose better options for their kids—options Democrats are terrified of because they threaten the teachers’ unions’ stranglehold on the system.
But sure, let’s keep kids trapped in failing schools to protect the “rights” of an institution rather than those of parents and students.
Yeager: “Home cannot mean Nevada if you don’t have a home.”
What a profound insight. Did Jon Ralston ghost-write it for him?
Democrats complain that Lombardo didn’t address housing, but they’ve had years to fix the problem – including four under complete Democrat control when Steve Sisolak was in the governor’s chair.
What’s their plan? More rent-control regulation, more fees, and more bureaucratic roadblocks that drive up costs for builders and renters alike.
Meanwhile, Lombardo’s Nevada Housing Attainability Act aims to increase the housing supply without drowning developers in red tape.
Novel idea: build homes instead of just writing about them in policy memos.
Yeager: “Nevada has one of the most secure election systems in the country.”
And yet Democrats are in a tizzy because Lombardo wants ballots in by Election Day. His proposal makes perfect sense: Stop the post-election ballot trickle.
But no, according to Yeager that’s somehow an assault on democracy. Spoiler alert: it’s not.
Yeager: “Legislative Democrats stand firmly for the rights of women.”
Except when it comes to keeping “chicks with d*cks” out of women’s sports and bathrooms. Or women who want better schools for their kids and safer neighborhoods.
Yeager: “Gun violence is on the rise… our thoughts and prayers are not enough.”
Yeager and his fellow Democrat travelers offer vague “common sense solutions” (read: gun control) without addressing the actual issue—criminals, not guns.
Maybe instead of demonizing lawful gun owners, Democrats could help fix the system that releases violent offenders to reoffend?
Lombardo’s tough-on-crime plan puts victims first. But Yeager’s more worried about shielding soft-on-crime policies that gave Nevada the honor of being softer on crime than California!
His team’s criminal justice “reforms” have left us with higher repeat offender rates and lower public safety. But hey, at least they’ve saved money by kicking criminals out of jails and back into our communities!
Yeager: “We must continually reaffirm… public lands stay in public hands.”
Translation: Let’s leave 80% of Nevada under federal control so Washington bureaucrats can tell us what to do with our own land.
Lombardo’s plan to push for federal land releases would let Nevadans actually use their land for homes and economic growth. But why let locals decide when DC knows best, right?
Bottom Line: Speaker Yeager’s response was long on the usual stale, partisan talking-point rhetoric that was rejected by voters in November.
It’s easy to burble about “rights” and “progress,” but when Nevadans are struggling to make ends meet, dealing with rising crime, and sending their kids to “failure factory” schools, talk is cheap.
Yeager and legislative Democrats are just spinning their wheels and reliving the “glory days” of the Biden-Harris administration while Gov. Joe “Don Veto” Lombardo is getting sh*t done.
His focus on accountability, efficiency, and defending families is exactly what Nevada needs.
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com. You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com. His views are his own.
