Jennifer Solis, Nevada Current

Leading Fiore by more than 10,000 votes on Friday, Democratic Nevada State Treasurer incumbent Zach Conine issued a statement declaring victory.

“I am humbled that Nevadans have asked me to continue serving as their State Treasurer, I intend on making them proud over these next four years,” he said. “Our campaign was built upon a foundation of integrity and working incredibly hard to build the State that Nevadans deserve to live in.”

Early this year, Fiore said Trump was the “rightful president of the United States,” adding that she believed “there was voter fraud, and he won Nevada” during a primary debate. In a campaign ad, Fiore listed “stop voter fraud” as one point in her three-point plan.

Zealous support for Trump’s baseless allegations of election fraud propelled Fiore through the Republican primary, but seems to have turned voters off in the November general election. Fiore joined the ranks of defeated election deniers in Nevada, including Jim Marchant and Sigal Chattah.

Conine’s second term as the state’s chief financial officer was cemented by a batch of ballots in Democratic stronghold Clark County. Remaining uncounted ballots are likely to expand his lead.

Fiore secured strong support in rural Nevada, but those gains were washed away by voters in Clark and Washoe counties who voted blue by significant margins.

Conine received wide bipartisan support for his performance as state treasurer over the past four years, and was even endorsed by some Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller.

During his tenure, Conine faced criticism from Republican voters and Fiore after he divested from companies that manufacture or sell assault-style weapons.

Under Conine, Nevada has received and maintained its highest credit rating in history. Conine boasts his office has returned more unclaimed property to more Nevadans than in any two-year period in Nevada history. He also more than doubled investment returns for the Permanent School Fund since becoming Chair.

Fiore chose to challenge Conine after months of marketing herself as a gubernatorial candidate and spending thousands of dollars in campaign funds to air a 60-second television ad in the Palm Beach, Florida market – home of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property.

She never filed to run for governor.

On Twitter Fiore announced she would be running for Nevada state treasurer instead, explaining the switch was at the behest of Trump’s team. He ultimately endorsed her for the position of Nevada’s chief financial officer, which manages a portfolio of about $50 billion in state money and investments that affect everything from unemployment benefits to the state’s education fund.

In addition to Trump, Fiore was endorsed by controversial Republican politicians and personalities including Sheriff Joe Arpaio, far right talk radio host Wayne Allyn Root, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. She was also endorsed by the Nevada Republican Party and the Nevada Veterans Association, and several Republican county commissioners.

Fiore’s campaign was marked by a number of missteps, including mistakenly accusing the incumbent Conine of profiting from a “shady” corporation run out of the State Treasurer’s office which he is statutorily required to run as the state treasurer.

Fiore’s history in Nevada politics also includes a number of financial controversies, including a history of failing to report tax debt to the IRS, which is a requirement for candidates and elected officials. In 2021, the FBI raided Fiore’s home as part of its investigation into possible campaign finance violations. As of July, Fiore and previous businesses had $361,300.57 in active federal and state tax liens against them.

She is also facing allegations of violating campaign finance law by allegedly accepting donations exceeding the state’s $10,000 maximum contribution limit from a single source, a claim Conine’s campaign filed with the Nevada secretary of state.

Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: info@nevadacurrent.com. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and Twitter.

Former President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas Friday to tout his chosen candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor in an often-meandering speech centered on crime in Nevada and nationally.

Trump dedicated a significant chunk of his 45 minute speech at the Treasure Island resort to condemning the Democratic party for being soft on crime, calling Nevada and the entire nation “a cesspool of crime.”

“If we are going to make America great again our first task is to make America safe again,” said Trump to hefty applause from the audience.

The former president did however dedicate a few moments of his speech to boost Republican nominees in Nevada, including Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, the party candidate for governor, and Adam Laxalt, the candidate for U.S. Senate, both of whom he endorsed during their primaries.

Prior to Trump’s address, Laxalt and Lombardo participated in a panel discussion, which also focused on crime.

While neither Lombardo nor Laxalt praised Trump for his tenure in office, the candidates echoed the former president’s rhetoric on restoring a tough on crime approach to governance.

In 2021, Clark County saw a 49% increase in murders and an 11% increase in property crime, according to the most recent annual report.

Lombardo attributed the increase in crime to recent changes in Nevada criminal justice reform measures passed under a Democratic controlled Legislature, including provisions in AB236 that take aim at reducing Nevada’s growing prison population and recidivism rates by lowering penalties for some theft and drug crimes. Lombardo argued the provisions were emboldening criminals.

The bill passed on a party-line vote with some Republican support in both the Assembly and state Senate. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, under the direction of Lombardo, originally opposed the bill but switched to neutral as it moved through the Legislature.

“We are currently in the throes of a single party rule in the state of Nevada,” Lombardo said. “The majority of the Legislature are majority Democratic. Do you think that has anything to do with the situation we are in?”

Lombardo justified a Clark County tax hike he spearheaded in 2016 known as the ‘More Cops Fund,’ which increased sales tax from from 8.1% to 8.15%, adding that he supports an increase in funding for police and will not “defund the police”

“Defund the police has been the scourge of what we’re dealing with in law enforcement,” Lombardo said.

Metro’s budget has increased anywhere between 0.96% to 5.56% annually since fiscal year 2014, according to past budget reports. In June, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was granted more than $715 million for its operating budget next year — an 8.17% increase over its previous budget.

Laxalt, the former state attorney general, likewise said Nevada has faced a wave of “anti-cop rhetoric” and the “demonization of police.” He called the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department “one of the finest police departments in America.”

The former attorney general referred to the series of protests and civil unrest that occurred after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, calling the resulting national conversation about systemic racism in policing “out of whack.”

“What it’s done is cause massive retirements,” Laxalt said. “Does anyone want their kids to be cops today? Let me tell you, cops don’t want their kids to be cops today.”

Laxalt said police departments across the country are dealing with recruitment and retention issues. In Clark County, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has fallen below the ratio of two officers per 1,000 citizens — a benchmark set with the ‘More Cops Fund’ sales tax.

Fentanyl overdoses were also a major topic discussed on the panel Friday. Laxalt blamed the national increase in fentanyl deaths on what he called an “open border,” which he characterized as a border where “anyone can come in with no limits and no restraints.”

Nevada is not a border state and lies outside the 100-mile jurisdiction of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, Laxalt devoted a large chunk of his time to criticizing what he says is a lack of funding for border patrol.

“We will force this president to come to terms and give law enforcement the resources they need to back border patrol,” Laxalt said.

Trump used much of his time on stage to praise his accomplishments while in office and called for more law enforcement across the nation, saying that “civilization is under siege” by “organized mobs.”

Trump said one regret he had as president was allowing local city governments to “do their job on crime instead of saying I’m going to do your job for you.” Trump used his executive order directing federal law enforcement agencies to prosecute people who damage federal monuments— and withhold federal funding from cities— as an example of steps he could have taken to control local policing.

“We’re not going to let that happen to our cities. They are run by Democrats and you know we’re supposed to let them run it,” Trump said. “With Republican victories in 2022 and 2024 we can restore tough on crime policies and much, much more.”

Trump called for strengthening qualified immunity laws for police officers⁠— a defense that shields officers from being sued – giving police more surplus military equipment, building a physical border, and increased funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“We must back them up so they can properly do their jobs. Police officers will never be able to enforce the law if simply doing their jobs can land them in jail, take away their retirement and basically ruin their lives,” Trump said.

The former president emphasized his overall nationalist “America First” ideology and called Lombardo and Laxalt “America First candidates.” He also lambasted current Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak, who Trump said was “letting your state go to hell.”

Trump called Lombardo “tough as hell” and a “steady hand” and urged Republicans to go out and vote in November.

The event at Treasure Island was not a typical Trump rally, and not open to the public. Nevada Current requested media credentials for the event but the Trump political action committee taking those credentials denied the request. This story was covered by watching the event on CSPAN.

Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: info@nevadacurrent.com. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and Twitter.