As you’ll find on the Nevada News & Views headline page today, the conservative business organization Keystone Corporation announced its state Senate endorsements today. But perhaps the biggest news of the announcement was who DIDN’T get endorsed: Joe Hardy
Assemblyman Hardy….who is running for the Senate District 12 seat being vacated by state Sen. Warren Hardy…who has already been endorsed by the incumbent….who has the support of most of the “establishment” lobbying community…as well Sen. Bill Raggio’s senate caucus.
Hardy, by the way, was about as liberal as they came in the 2009 legislative session, chalking up an embarrassing Conservative Rating of just 34 percent. He’s also the last remaining Republican member of the state Assembly who voted for the Mother of All Nevada Tax Hikes in 2003.
In other words, Joe Hardy is a RINO (Republican in Name Only). Indeed, he might even be considered the poster child for RINOs in the Nevada Legislature.
Hardy is being opposed in the GOP primary by Las Vegas businessman Patrick McNaught – who, by the way, is hosting his first fundraiser at the M tonight.
Not necessarily surprising that Keystone didn’t endorse McNaught considering the odds against him vs. a good, old-fashioned establishment anointment. But that the organization didn’t fall in line and throw its support behind Hardy despite that being the easy and painless thing to do speaks well for the folks at Keystone – though I would have preferred it if they had endorsed the pro-business conservative Mr. McNaught outright.
But it’s still a significant slap in the face to Joe Hardy.
