Seth A. Richardson

Reno Gazette-Journal

Final update:

The trend of Republicans facing raucous town halls continued on Monday in Reno as U.S. Sen. Dean Heller and U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei faced a swath of angry Nevadans who demanded answers.

Republican town halls have been anything but hospitable, with lawmakers frequently being shouted down akin to the 2010 rise of the conservative Tea Party against Democrats. Even those in deep red districts and states like Oklahoma, Arkansas and Utah have not been immune to the tide of criticism leveled against legislators since Republican President Donald Trump took office.

Heller and Amodei’s joint town hall on Monday was no exception, though more muted than some of the others around the country. Around 600 people crowded the Reno-Sparks Convention Center room while around another 200 were denied entry because of space.

The crowd actually started by cheering Amodei – Trump’s Nevada campaign chairman – and continued hooting and hollering for him during the myriad of questions on health care. Amodei publicly bucked Trump during the debate to repeal and replace Democratic President Barack Obama’s health care law – commonly known as “Obamacare” – coming out against Trump and House Speaker Paul Ryan's proposed American Health Care Act.

The bill was pulled before it could come to a vote after failing to retrieve support from both far-right and moderate Republicans.

However, the case was much different for Heller.

Considered a top-target for Democrats in the 2018, the crowd soured quickly, booing several of his answers from the onset. Chief among people’s concerns were cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and health care, but a variety of other subjects were also addressed like immigration, Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and renewable energy.

Heller voted to confirm Scott Pruitt, Trump’s pick for EPA chief, and said he’d support Pruitt when he thought he was right and oppose him when he was wrong. Pruitt is a climate change denier who previously sued the EPA more than a dozen times.

The crowd was not pleased, shouting him down over any signs of working with Pruitt.

Heller was also asked about funding for Planned Parenthood multiple times as pink shirts dotted the crowd.

The senator recently voted to allow states to defund the organization’s Title X federal funding. As recently as January, a spokesman for the senator said he did not support federal funding for the organization.

Heller said he was a supporter of women’s health care, including Planned Parenthood and had “no problem” with federal funding.

“I will protect Planned Parenthood,” Heller said to initial applause before quickly clarifying he wasn’t sure if federal funding should cover “some of the activities” that occur in Planned Parenthood, producing boos.

One woman wasn’t pleased with the answer.

“We know how you voted, senator,” the questioner said. “We saw it.”

The crowd softened during the second hour, especially when the subject of immigration came up. Heller has previously called for comprehensive immigration reform and is a cosponsor of the BRIDGE Act, which would codify several provisions of Obama’s executive orders on immigration granting amnesty to children of undocumented migrants.

Heller said there was a failing on both sides in terms of immigration reform, pointing out that he's supported multiple bills that simply weren't heard in one chamber or another.

The whole of the town hall was more muted than some others nationwide, but still filled with contention. Heller received the brunt of the criticism from the crowd, but seemed to take it in stride, often with a smile on his face.

Vivian Leal, 51, of Reno, gave a stern warning to Heller, reminding him of implications for the 2018 election.

"You represent all of Nevada," she said. "Make sure you remember that."

The crowd was much more receptive to Amodei. He also asked crowd members to send him information on why a single-payer health care system works, a policy almost no Republican agrees with.

Both Heller and Amodei said they wanted to continue to connect with constituents. Amodei promised to hold more town halls and both went more than 20 minutes over the scheduled two-hour time limit.

"Even though we disagree on some things, I want to say thanks for the way you've completed yourselves," Amodei said.

Heller and Amodei both took questions from people who were not able to ask their questions.

Outside the event was an altogether different story. Around 200 people were not allowed to enter because of space limitations, prompting an on-the-spot protest for those eager to hear their representatives speak in person.

Ed Cohen, 58, of Reno, said he arrived around 20 minutes early, but by then entry had already been cut off. The group of those left outside started chanting, “Let us in!” he said.

“Apparently that didn’t have any effect,” he said.

Dove Russo, 37, of Reno, was another who wasn’t able to make it inside the room. She joined the protest, where people asked questions they would have liked to hear from both Heller and Amodei.

She questioned if the relatively small-sized space was intentional given there are much larger rooms in the convention center.

“There were all these possibilities to make it a real place for Nevada voters to be heard and it felt like at every step of the way that was being thwarted by their lack of efforts to be inclusive,” she said.

Cohen was skeptical of the timing itself: Monday morning during work and school hours.

“If you wanted people to attend, why’d you schedule it on a weekday during work hours? As they always do, they said they’d pass along my comments.”

Monday’s town hall was not the only chance for voters to talk directly with their representatives. U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., is holding one at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Reno High School theatre.

Heller was also slated to speak on the floor of the Legislature Monday afternoon.

Seth A. Richardson covers politics for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Like him on Facebook here or follow him on Twitter at @SethARichardson.

11:30 a.m. update:

U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, and Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., held a public town hall Monday in Reno.

The crowd softened up to Heller during the second hour of the town hall, especially when the subject of immigration came up.

Heller said there was a failing on both sides in terms of immigration reform, pointing out that he's supported multiple bills that simply weren't heard in one chamber or another.

But the environmental and health care didn't go away.

The whole of the town hall was more muted than some others nationwide, but still filled with contention. Heller received the brunt of the criticism from the crowd, but seemed to take it in stride, often with a smile on his face.

One woman gave a stern warning to Heller, reminding him of implications for the 2018 election.

"You represent all of Nevada," she said. "Make sure you remember that."

The crowd was much more receptive to Amodei, frequently cheering the former Trump state campaign chairman for his recent decisions that buck Trump. He also asked crowd members to send him information on why a single-payer health care system works, a policy almost no Republican agrees with.

Both Heller and Amodei said they wanted to continue to connect with constituents. Amodei promised to hold more town halls and both went more than 20 minutes over the scheduled two-hour time limit.

"Even though we disagree on some things, I want to say thanks for the way you've completed yourselves," Amodei said.

On Trump's performance

Heller said in a Monday morning interview with the Reno Gazette-Journal he thought it was too early to start grading President Donald Trump’s performance less than 100 days into the new administration.

"Well I wasn’t a big supporter and I think most Nevadans know that. Like I said, I’ll just continue to support him when he’s right and try to change his mind when I think he’s wrong."

Preview:Dean Heller thinks he's going to get yelled at during town hall

More:Sen. Cortez Masto to hold town hall

He added despite the contentious nature of some town halls around the country, he thought his town hall was going to go “just fine.”

“There will be some disagreements no doubt,” he said. “I think, frankly, most of these articles he already been written, you know. So all we’re looking for are some anecdotes of individuals and there comments. Overall, this is probably going to be like any other town hall. We’ll agree and we’ll disagree and when they disagree they’ll let me know.”