As 2017 ends, focus turns to Nevada’s midterm elections

With 2018’s arrival, the campaign season will soon ramp up. But the final weeks of 2017 had plenty to offer, including a progressive PAC calling for U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen to give back its donation and Harry Reid coming out of the woodwork (at least in email form).

PAC wants gift back from Kihuen

End Citizens United, a traditional PAC aimed at eliminating dark money from politics, is asking for its money back from Kihuen, D-Nev., after numerous allegations of sexual misconduct by the freshman congressman have surfaced.

The PAC sent Kihuen’s campaign a Dec. 19 letter that said it was revoking its endorsement of Kihuen (although Kihuen has said he won’t seek re-election for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District in 2018) and is asking him to return its $6,000 campaign donation by the end of January.

“ECU is dedicated to electing new leaders who are committed to changing our broken system and ending the culture of corruption in Washington,” wrote Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United. “We need leaders who are committed to that fight and who will hold themselves to a high standard of conduct as elected officials.”

Harry’s back

Harry Reid might not be in office any longer, but his name still pops up plenty in the fundraising world.

The campaign for Nevada senatorial candidate Jacky Rosen sent out four emails with Reid’s name attached since mid-December asking for campaign donations, saying her campaign needs help to fight against GOP Super PACs in the Democrats’ push to retake the Senate in 2018.

“Throughout my career in the Senate, nothing we accomplished was ever easy. We had to fight hard to carry out our vision for a future where every American could get health insurance, regardless of pre-existing conditions. Jacky’s got the passion and persistence to roll up her sleeves and get to work from day one,” all four emails read.

Rosen, a freshman Democratic representative from Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District who was recruited to run by Reid, seeks to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Dean Heller.

Heller is also expected to face a strong primary challenge from businessman and perennial Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian.

New candidates

— Paul Nimsuwan, a Democrat, is running for Nevada Assembly in District 35. Incumbent Democrat Justin Watkins announced this past year he does not intend to run for the seat again. Nimsuwan is a Durango High School graduate who immigrated to the U.S. from Thailand at age 14. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps until 2007 when he was injured while serving in Iraq. He earned a law degree from the University of Massachusetts in 2012.

— Another political newcomer is planning to jump into the race to replace Rosen in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. Hermon Farahi, a Democrat, is a graduate of Green Valley High School and UNLV. His parents are immigrants; his father from Iran and his mother from South Korea.

Counting Farahi, at least five Democrats are running in the CD-3 primary, with former CD-4 candidate Susie Lee considered the favorite in the race.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.