Laxalt endorses Romney, whose father helped him win ’66 Nevada governor’s race

When Paul Laxalt ran for Nevada governor in 1966, he got some help from George Romney, a fellow Republican who then was governor of Michigan. As a prominent Mormon, Romney helped Laxalt, a Roman Catholic, win over members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints here.

Now, Laxalt, the 90-year-old elder statesman of Nevada politics, has been quietly supporting the son, Mitt Romney, in his GOP presidential race against President Barack Obama.

"Governor Romney's father, George, was extremely helpful to me in my gubernatorial campaign in 1966," Laxalt said Thursday in a statement. "Having a prominent Mormon public official come to Nevada in those days to campaign on my behalf was very important to our success. I will always be grateful. You might begin to understand why I am proud to support his son's candidacy."

Laxalt and his wife, Carol, have attended a couple of Romney functions in the Washington, D.C., area, where the Laxalts live, said Tom Loranger, vice president of the Paul Laxalt Group. Carol Laxalt in April donated $1,000 to the Romney campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.

"He supports Romney completely," Loranger said of Laxalt.

Laxalt didn't endorse any GOP presidential candidate during the highly competitive primary. Once Romney became the clear Republican nominee, Laxalt didn't feel the need to offer a public endorsement, Loranger said.

Instead, Laxalt is offering behind-the-scenes support in GOP circles.

As Nevada's favorite political son who rose to the U.S. Senate, Laxalt has a long history in presidential politics. He even ran for the GOP presidential nomination in 1988 but dropped out after four months.

In 1976, Laxalt was national chairman of Ronald Reagan's campaign against President Gerald Ford, a losing effort. Reagan won four years later, and Laxalt's political stock rose as well as the president's "first friend" who chaired both his 1980 and 1984 campaigns. The two men had worked closely together as fellow governors, Reagan in next-door California, after they were both elected in 1966.

Later, Laxalt was co-chairman of George H.W. Bush's 1988 successful presidential campaign. Laxalt also helped former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas when he ran for president in 1996, acting as a national co-chairman once again. Dole lost to the popular incumbent, then-President Bill Clinton.

The Laxalt brand carries a lot of weight nationally and in Nevada still.

"Paul Laxalt is a Nevada legend," said Ryan Erwin, a top state adviser to Romney's presidential campaign. "He is well-liked and well-respected. I think he represents much of what is great about Nevada. In a dozen years of working in Nevada politics, I can honestly say I've never run into a single person - Republican, Democrat or other - with a negative word to say about Paul Laxalt."

Romney already enjoys the support of Nevada's Republican political establishment. He has won the public endorsements of Gov. Brian Sandoval, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, and U.S. Reps. Joe Heck and Mark Amodei, and most of the Republicans serving in the Nevada Legislature.

Former U.S. Rep. Barbara Vucanovich of Reno has endorsed Romney and attended one campaign event with him in Northern Nevada. She said Thursday she wrote a $2,500 check for a private fundraiser Romney is attending today in Reno. And Vucanovich said she plans to help as needed through the Nov. 6 election.

If Laxalt is Nevada's elder statesman, at 91 years old, Vucanovich is the GOP matriarch.

"Oh, I hope we still do have influence," Vucanovich said of herself and Laxalt.

"Both of us are pretty old," she added, laughing. "I do know there are a lot of people in this part of the state who know I'm endorsing Romney, and they say it makes a difference when I run into them."

Asked whether she thinks Romney can win Nevada, Vucanovich said, "I think it'll be close, really very close."

On Thursday, Laxalt's birthday, Sandoval issued a proclamation making it "Paul Laxalt Day in Nevada." The son of a Basque sheepherder, the Reno-born Laxalt served in the U.S. Senate from 1974 until 1987.

Sandoval and other Republicans plan to gather Aug. 18 to celebrate Vucanovich as the first woman from Nevada to serve in Congress, from 1983 to 1997. The event will serve as a fundraiser for the Washoe County Republican Party, with tickets going from $150 per person to $3,000 for a table.