Campaign season puts Pahrump in spotlight

This month’s primary election culminated a busy primary season across Nevada and Nye County.

Highlights included the filing period in March, campaigning throughout the spring, statewide candidate visits to the Pahrump area and more.

Among them: a stop in Pahrump by Roger Stone, confidante and ally of President Donald Trump. Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, also visited Pahrump. Both Stone and Norquist appeared on behalf of Nevada Assembly candidate Dennis Hof.

“This ain’t your daddy’s old GOP,” Hof told CNN after his win. “This is the new GOP with Donald Trump running it…Dennis Hof is the Trump of Pahrump.”

On the statewide level, Adam Laxalt brought his “get out the vote” tour to Pahrump as early voting was underway. Laxalt, considered by many as the frontrunner for Nevada governor, is the state’s sitting attorney general.

Also stopping in town was Ryan Bundy, famous for his part in the tense, armed standoff with government officials at his family’s ranch in 2014. He is running for governor without political affiliation, registered with no political party.

And in May, the Food Network’s “Chopped” star, Jessica Johnson, was at the Pahrump Senior Center as part of an event put on by the Hof campaign.

In between campaign appearances were grassroots campaigning and a series of debates involving multiple candidates for various offices. It gave voters a chance to see the prospective officeholders up close in person.

Though the June 12 primary is over, the election season continues.

The general election is Nov. 6, with key races yet to be decided. They include Nevada governor and other statewide offices, a U.S. Senate seat held by Dean Heller, R-Nevada, a U.S. House seat and Nye County sheriff.

Check the Pahrump Valley Times for coverage as the November election approaches.