Steve Sisolak stresses party unity in speech to Democrats after bruising primary fight Democratic governor hopeful looks to mend fences with progressives after tough primary election fight

James DeHaven | Reno Gazette-Journal

Show Caption Hide Caption Watch: Nevadans worry over government direction under Trump Some Nevadans say they're worried about the direction government is taking under Trump. Hundreds met for the Democratic Convention in Reno.

Let the healing begin.

That was the takeaway from Steve Sisolak’s speech to hundreds of Democrats gathered Saturday in Reno, where the party’s newly nominated governor’s office hopeful took the first steps toward patching up wounds opened during a ferocious primary election fight with Chris Giunchigliani.

Sisolak, a self-described moderate, earlier this month scored a bigger-than-expected Election Day victory over the more progressive Giunchigliani, prompting concern over whether the party’s left wing would line up behind a more establishment pick for the governor’s office.

Sisolak’s weekend address to the state Democratic party’s annual convention went some way toward easing those worries, as delegates welcomed him with a resounding standing ovation.

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“I know some of you voted for someone else a couple of weeks ago,” Sisolak told the crowd gathered in a convention hall at the Grand Sierra Resort. “That’s OK. But let’s work together now.

“The challenges we face are too important to let our differences divide us. We simply can’t afford to let Adam Laxalt be elected governor.”

Laxalt, Nevada’s attorney general and the GOP’s pick to replace outgoing Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, has called Sisolak the most liberal candidate ever to seek the state’s highest office. Laxalt himself has been described as the most conservative candidate to run for the seat.

Sisolak brushed off both characterizations in a post-speech press conference.

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“Labels aren’t what matters to me,” he said. “I’d prefer we focus on how to get things done. … I think we get a little carried away sometimes with who’s too liberal or who’s too conservative.

“What people are concerned about, when you talk to them, is better education, better quality jobs, safer streets and better health care. These are the situations people face every day.”

Sisolak wove a similar thread through Saturday’s address, ticking off a laundry list of polarizing policy topics — from women’s health to economic development — that he said Laxalt would not address if elected governor.

Both front-runners for the seat are proven fundraisers, though Sisolak does have something of a secret weapon heading into what’s expected to be the most expensive governor’s race in state history: Former Democratic U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

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Reid, now two years removed from the Senate, remains a behind-the-scenes campaign force thanks to a much-vaunted political organizing and fundraising apparatus built up over several Senate re-election campaigns. The ex-Senate leader was one of Sisolak’s earliest backers in the primary election and is expected to throw the full weight of his influence behind efforts to elect the Democratic nominee.

But Sisolak, who is looking to become Nevada’s first Democratic governor in two decades, isn’t taking any chances.

“I need each and every one of you out there pounding the pavement and making the phone calls, because that’s where this race is going to be won,” he told the convention crowd on Saturday. “I can’t defeat Adam Laxalt without you.

“Together we’re one and we’re stronger together. So let’s get together.”

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