Adam Laxalt

Adam Laxalt
Laxalt in 2016
33rd Attorney General of Nevada
In office
January 5, 2015 – January 7, 2019
GovernorBrian Sandoval
Preceded byCatherine Cortez Masto
Succeeded byAaron Ford
Personal details
Born (1978-08-31) August 31, 1978 (age 46)
Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJaime Laxalt
Children4
Parent
RelativesPaul Laxalt (grandfather)
Education
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Navy
Years of service2005–2010
RankLieutenant
UnitJudge Advocate General's Corps
Battles/warsIraq War
AwardsJoint Service Commendation Medal

Adam Paul Laxalt (/ˈlæksɔːlt/ LAK-sawlt; born August 31, 1978[1]) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's unsuccessful nominee for governor of Nevada in 2018 and for the U.S. Senate in 2022.

Laxalt is the son of former U.S. Senator Pete Domenici of New Mexico and grandson of former Nevada governor and U.S. senator Paul Laxalt. He graduated from Georgetown University and its law school before working as an aide to then-Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John R. Bolton and Virginia U.S. Senator John Warner. He worked as a lawyer in private practice and was a member of the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps from 2005 to 2010.

Elected in 2014, Laxalt served one term as the attorney general of Nevada from 2015 to 2019. In that role, he filed legal briefs in support of laws restricting abortion, challenged federal environmental protection regulations, opposed some gun regulations, and opposed a multi-state investigation into ExxonMobil's role in climate change.

He unsuccessfully ran for governor of Nevada in 2018, losing to Democrat Steve Sisolak. Laxalt co-chaired Donald Trump's 2020 unsuccessful reelection campaign in Nevada. An election denier, Laxalt is a proponent of the disproven conspiracy theory that large-scale fraud occurred in Nevada's election and sought to overturn the election results after Trump lost the 2020 election and refused to concede.

Laxalt later ran for the United States Senate in 2022, and was chosen as the Republican nominee. By a narrow (0.77%) margin, he lost the general election to the incumbent, Catherine Cortez Masto.

  1. ^ "Indy Fast Facts: Adam Laxalt". Nevada Independent. Las Vegas, NV. October 1, 2018. Archived from the original on October 4, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2018.