Adam Laxalt facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Adam Laxalt
Laxalt in 2016
33rd Attorney General of Nevada
In office January 5, 2015 – January 7, 2019
Governor	Brian Sandoval
Preceded by	Catherine Cortez Masto
Succeeded by	Aaron Ford
Personal details
Born	(1978-08-31) August 31, 1978 (age 46) Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Jaime Laxalt
Children	4
Parent	Pete Domenici (father)
Relatives	Paul Laxalt (grandfather)
Education	Tulane University Georgetown University (BA, JD)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	2005–2010
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Judge Advocate General's Corps
Battles/wars	Iraq War
Awards	Joint Service Commendation Medal

Adam Paul Laxalt (born August 31, 1978) is an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party. He ran 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 from New Mexico. He is also the grandson of former Nevada governor and U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt. He studied at Georgetown University and its law school. After college, he worked for government officials. He also worked as a lawyer in private companies. From 2005 to 2010, he was a lawyer in the Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps.

He was elected Attorney General in 2014. During his time in office, he supported certain laws. He also challenged some federal rules, like those about protecting the environment. He also opposed some gun regulations.

In 2018, he ran for governor of Nevada but lost to Steve Sisolak. Laxalt helped lead Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in Nevada. After the 2020 election, he claimed there were problems with the election results in Nevada and tried to change them.

Laxalt later ran for the United States Senate in 2022. He was chosen as the Republican candidate. He lost the election to the person already in office, Catherine Cortez Masto, by a small number of votes.

Early Life and Education

Adam Laxalt was born in Reno, Nevada, on August 31, 1978. His mother is Michelle Laxalt. His father was Pete Domenici, a U.S. Senator from New Mexico. Adam Laxalt was raised by his mother. His grandfather was Paul Laxalt, who was a governor and U.S. Senator for Nevada.

Adam Laxalt went to St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School in Virginia. This school helps students get ready for college. He then went to Tulane University for two years. After that, he transferred to Georgetown University. He graduated from Georgetown in 2001 with a degree in political science and government. He then earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 2005.

Career in Law and Government

After finishing his education, Laxalt worked for government officials in Washington, D.C. He worked for John R. Bolton and later for U.S. Senator John Warner.

Later, Laxalt worked as a lawyer for a law firm called Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie in Reno, Nevada. He left this firm in 2014 to focus on his campaign for Attorney General of Nevada.

Military Service

Adam Laxalt served for five years in the United States Navy. He was part of the Judge Advocate General's Corps. This means he worked as a lawyer for the Navy. He was stationed in places like Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy and also served in Iraq. He also taught law for a time at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Nevada Attorney General

After working as a lawyer, Laxalt decided to run for Nevada Attorney General. In January 2014, he announced his plan to run. He became the Republican candidate for the election. After a challenging campaign, Laxalt won against the Democratic candidate, Ross Miller. Laxalt became the Attorney General of Nevada on January 5, 2015.

As Attorney General, he created a special group to deal with federal rules. He challenged some rules from the Environmental Protection Agency about water and land. He also joined lawsuits against the government about rules for overtime pay and programs for young immigrants.

In 2017, Laxalt spoke about a proposed law that would allow temporary removal of guns from people who might be a danger. He later suggested that lawmakers should consider such a law.

As Attorney General, Laxalt signed Nevada onto several lawsuits that supported certain health care laws in other states. He also supported keeping the names of political donors private in a California lawsuit. He opposed an investigation into how a company talked about global warming.

Laxalt also started the Office of Military Legal Assistance. This office provided free legal help to military veterans.

2018 Nevada Governor Campaign

Laxalt was the Republican candidate for governor of Nevada in the 2018 election. He won the Republican nomination, but he lost the general election to the Democratic candidate, Steve Sisolak. Sisolak became the first Democrat to win the governorship in Nevada in 20 years. Sisolak received about 49.39% of the votes, while Laxalt received about 45.31%.

During his campaign, Laxalt talked about health care. He said he was against the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. However, he promised not to stop the Medicaid health coverage that helped many people in Nevada.

President Donald Trump supported Laxalt in his campaign. The governor at the time, Brian Sandoval, who was also a Republican, did not support any candidate. Governor Sandoval and Laxalt had different ideas on some topics, like taxes and environmental rules.

Donald Trump's 2020 Election Campaign

Adam Laxalt helped lead Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in Nevada. Before the election, he tried to stop the counting of early votes in Clark County, which is a large county in Nevada.

After Trump lost Nevada to Joe Biden, Laxalt claimed that there were many problems with how votes were counted in Nevada. He and other Trump campaign officials did not provide clear proof for these claims. Laxalt said that some people who voted were not residents of Nevada. However, many of these people were military members or students who are allowed to vote in Nevada even if they live elsewhere temporarily.

Laxalt also claimed that many mail-in ballots were checked only by machines and that these machines could not match signatures. But in reality, ballots that machines could not check were reviewed by people.

2022 U.S. Senate Campaign

In August 2021, Laxalt announced he would run for the United States Senate in 2022. He challenged the person already in office, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto. He said that he believed certain groups were "taking over America." This election was expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races in 2022.

Laxalt won the Republican primary election in June 2022. On November 12, 2022, news organizations announced that Cortez Masto had won the election. This meant that Democrats would control the Senate.

Recent Activities

In April 2023, Laxalt became the leader of a political group called Never Back Down Super PAC. This group supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis for President in 2024. Laxalt left this role in November 2023.

Personal Life

Adam Laxalt is married to Jaime Laxalt. They have four children together.

Electoral History

See also

In Spanish: Adam Laxalt para niños