Republican Senate hopeful Adam Laxalt kicked off his 10-day statewide campaign tour in Reno Friday morning with a broadside attack on incumbent Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who he criticized for supporting a 'socialist' agenda.
Laxalt, who was Nevada's attorney general from 2015 to 2019, spoke to a crowd of about 100 supporters at a restaurant in Reno before taking off to campaign across northern Nevada this weekend.
Laxalt is running against wounded warrior Sam Brown and pageant winner and small business owner Sharelle Mendenhall in the Republican primary.
He said Friday that America has taken a sharp turn to the left, referencing riots last summer in the wake of George Floyd's death, cancel culture and Congressional Democrats' support of a $3.5 trillion spending bill.
"If we don't step up now to fight for our country and fight for our values, there'll be nothing left for (my children) to grow up in," Laxalt said.
He attacked Sen. Cortez Masto for voting with Democrats 97% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.
"She is not standing for a secure border. She will not call for any accountability on Afghanistan and so we need someone that's not willing to go along with what Washington is doing every day," Laxalt said.
A small group of protestors with NARAL Pro-Choice Nevada gathered outside to call out Laxalt for his opposition to abortion rights.
"He represents values that are wildly out of touch with the majority of Nevadans because he is a strong anti-choice extremist," said Caroline Mello Roberson.
Laxalt told reporters he is a pro-life candidate and said he did not support taxpayer dollars being spent on abortions, but said he would not comment on Texas' new abortion law, which bans most abortions as early as six weeks.
He previously has insisted the 2020 election was rigged and was a supporter of the 'Stop the Steal' movement to overturn the election results. He declined to say Friday whether he would vote to overturn the 2024 presidential election results if elected.