On Tuesday, March 25th, Jed Block, Republican candidate for Assembly District 40, sent the following statement to the Vetting Committee of the Carson City Republican Central Committee. Assembly District 40 encompasses Carson City and portions of Washoe County:
"In Carson City, a recently created, secret Republican Vetting Committee informed me – as an announced Republican candidate for AD 40 – when to appear before them. The closed meeting may not even be observed without an invitation.
"The purpose of our June 10th Republican Primary, long established by Nevada law, is to decide the Republican Party Assembly District 40 nomination by the nearly 14,000 registered Republicans in AD 40.
"I absolutely reject this approach. It is not the Republican way. And, in my opinion, ultimately–it is not the Nevada way–or, the Nevada I grew up in.
"The Republican political culture of our Silver State has historically been, and still is, ultimately based on - individual effort. A candidate works to achieve the Republican Party nomination on primary election day, period.
"When a hand-full of self-promoted political “bosses” pressure candidates to engage in this approach – it threatens and undermines our value of individualism and work. It implies these “bosses” are to inform, if not instruct, the so-called rank-and-file how to think – how to vote.
"I have confidence in my fellow Nevada Republicans, whether in AD 40 or statewide, to be very capable of determining their individual choices – on their own. I applaud the decision of the Washoe County Republican Central Committee to not indulge in this pre-primary endorsement process.”