Basque Fry to bring Republican politics into focus in Northern Nevada

CARSON CITY — Northern Nevada’s second annual Basque Fry will bring Republican politics into focus later this month in Gardnerville, with speakers including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, former Ambassador John Bolton and Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr., of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.

Clarke made headlines last month for criticizing the group Black Lives Matter after the shootings of police officers in Dallas.

Cotton, a Republican who was elected to the Senate in 2014, is widely regarded as a rising star within the national party. At 39, Cotton is the youngest serving member of the Senate, where he sits on the Banking, Intelligence and Armed Services committees.

“Senator Cotton is a great patriot, an emerging leader of the Republican Party, and one of the Senate’s clearest and strongest voices for effective national security policy,” said Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, the Basque Fry’s chief supporter and organizer.

Also appearing will be Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who is running for U.S. Senate, and Danny Tarkanian, who is running as the GOP nominee for the 3rd Congressional seat Heck is vacating.

The event will be held at Corley Ranch. The inaugural Basque Fry in 2015 drew more than 1,500 attendees, including several then-candidates for president.

The event is held to celebrate Nevada’s rich Basque heritage, including Paul Laxalt, a former Nevada governor and U.S. senator. Paul Laxalt, the grandfather of Adam Laxalt, regularly hosted Basque lamb fry events throughout his career in Nevada and Washington, D.C.

The featured dish is lamb fry stew — the “fry” being lamb testicles.

The Morning in Nevada PAC was created in 2015 by friends of Adam Laxalt to help fund conservative causes, candidates and organizations. The Basque Fry is its signature event. More information about the second annual Basque Fry is at www.MorningInNevadaPac.org.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Find him on Twitter: @seanw801