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Laxalt weighs in on Planned Parenthood controversy

Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt has waded into the Planned Parenthood fetal tissue debate, sending a letter to the group's state affiliates asking for confirmation that they do not perform surgical abortions at their offices.

The letter, dated Sept. 15, points to videos released by a group called the Center for Medical Progress that allege potential violations regarding tissue donations from aborted fetuses from Planned Parenthood affiliates in other jurisdictions.

Laxalt said the group's Nevada websites say the only medical abortion procedures performed involve the use of a pill up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy that results in the termination of a pregnancy at home.

"Therefore, it would leave one to conclude that such circumstances would not allow the Nevada PP facilities to have or participate in tissue donation programs," Laxalt said in the letter. "Please confirm in writing that the Nevada facilities do not provide surgical abortions."

Laxalt also asked for confirmation the affiliates do not participate in tissue donation and that the Nevada facilities are in full compliance with state and federal laws and regulations.

The Nevada State Democratic Party accused Laxalt, a Republican, of pushing a "partisan ideological agenda."

"Nevada women who rely on the preventative health care services Planned Parenthood provides are not pawns to be used by Adam Laxalt to burnish his Republican primary credentials in his inevitable future runs for higher office," spokesman Zach Hudson said. "Adam Laxalt should stop using his office to advance his blind ambition and partisan, ideological agenda."

— Sean Whaley

Heather Murren weighing CD3 run

It appears as if Nevada Democrats might finally have the challenger they are looking for to run in the 3rd Congressional District in Las Vegas that is now open in the 2016 general election with Rep. Joe Heck's decision to run for the U.S. Senate.

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist Steve Sebelius first reported via Twitter last week that Heather Murren, wife of MGM Resorts Chairman and CEO Jim Murren, has been talking with Democratic leadership about a run for the job.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee said if Murren runs, "she would be one of our top tier candidates in one of our most competitive districts."

Retiring U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who said this summer he was expecting to bring in a strong candidate for the race, also weighed in on Murren, saying she has been a pillar of the Southern Nevada community for many years.

"She has devoted her life to public service — not the partisan kind but the making our state and country a better place to live kind," he said.

Reid noted that during the recession, Murren served as a member of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, helping to identify what caused the economy's collapse and how to prevent a recurrence.

She also co-founded the Nevada Cancer Institute, which serves tens of thousands of Nevadans in need of quality medical care, Reid said.

"Heather is exactly the type of person Nevada needs representing them," Reid said. "She will be a tremendous and formidable candidate for Congress."

Several prominent Republicans already have announced they are running for Heck's seat, including state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, and Danny Tarkanian, who has run unsuccessfully as a Republican for several offices over the years.

The 3rd District includes Henderson, Boulder City and areas of Clark County south to Laughlin and west to California. The district is considered the state's most competitive, with voter registration nearly equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.

— Sean Whaley

Cruz announces Nevada team

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas is trying to energize support in Nevada for his Republican presidential bid by enlisting three conservative state lawmakers and a host of others to his campaign leadership team.

Cruz on Friday announced the team includes Assembly members Victoria Seaman, Michele Fiore and John Moore. All three opposed Gov. Brian Sandoval's tax package and fought unsuccessfully for a bill to allow concealed weapons on college campuses.

Richard Ziser also is on the team. He spearheaded Nevada's ballot initiative passed in 2000 to define marriage as between one man and one woman. Prohibitions against gay marriage have since been struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. Ziser also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2004. He lost to incumbent Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., by a nearly 2-1 margin.

Others backing Cruz include Mendy Elliott, former director of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry; Jessi Bridges, director of Nevadans for Life; and pastors Oscar Benavides, Darrell Porter and David Bensley.

Nevadans "have grown tired of candidates who campaign as conservatives and then give in to the Washington Cartel," said Robert Uithoven, state director for the Cruz campaign. "Our leadership team believes that we have a candidate for president who will be our conservative champion."

Nevada Republicans will hold the first-in-the-West presidential caucus Feb. 23, the fourth nominating contest in the country.

— Sandra Chereb

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Follow him: @seanw801. Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Follow her: @SandraChereb

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