Guest column:

In swing states like Nevada, we can and must defeat Donald Trump

Sat, Feb 22, 2020 (2 a.m.)

This week, Nevadans like me have finally had our chance to choose our candidate for the Democratic nominee to take on President Donald Trump.

Political punditry aside, my own campaign for Nevada attorney general is proof that Democrats win swing states. And winning this November is crucial — it is not hyperbole to say this is the most important election in our lifetime.

The risks of a second-term Trump presidency are obvious and grave. We’ve seen nearly four years of Trump’s dangerous policies. From gutting affordable health care, handing out tax breaks for the ultra-rich while turning a blind eye to the opioid epidemic, student debt crisis and climate change, and literally ripping immigrant children out of the arms of their parents, Trump has shown us who he is and what he stands for. Four more years of Trump judicial nominees could shape this country in his image for generations.

There is a subtle and insidious side effect to Trump’s agenda: the destruction of our faith in democracy and our democratic institutions. When Trump breaks the law with impunity and makes a mockery of our democracy, it erodes people’s faith in our government. The Constitution is more than just a piece of paper or talking point, it’s the common ideal that binds us together as a nation of laws.

Fortunately, there are leaders across the country fighting every day to stand up for our democratic values and protect the rule of law. And we’re winning. Democratic attorneys general have sued to protect health care, block dangerous climate policy, stand up for immigrant communities, defend reproductive freedom and fight for our families and communities. A political scientist at Marquette University recently determined that Democratic attorneys general have won 80 percent of our lawsuits against the Trump administration.

We’re not just winning in the courtroom, but also at the ballot box. In 2018, the people of Nevada elected me, the state’s first African American statewide constitutional officer. Nationwide, voters sent a message that Democratic attorneys general matter, flipping four battleground states like Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin, and of course my home state of Nevada, blue.

This year, there are 12 state attorney general seats on the electoral map. We must protect champions like Josh Shapiro and Josh Stein in the swing states of Pennsylvania and North Carolina — and we have the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of people in states like Montana, Indiana, Missouri, Utah, and West Virginia at the state attorney general level.

These are the people who can make or break the agenda of our future president. Democratic attorneys general serve as watchdogs for the people, holding any bad actors, no matter how powerful, accountable. They fight with all the legal tools available for the people in their states and protect the rule of law. This is why Democratic attorneys general have stood in the way of Trump’s unlawful and dangerous policies.

However, Republicans are already telegraphing their intent to thwart and block any attempts by the next Democratic president to reverse Trump’s policies that have put too many families and communities in harms’ way. We cannot let these races for this critical office fly under the radar. The stakes are just too high.

Click to enlarge photo

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford takes questions from the Las Vegas Sun during an interview at Ford's office at the Grant Sawyer Building Monday, Nov. 25, 2019. A “Republicans for Ford” organizing committee is backing the Democrat’s reelection bid against the GOP nominee, Sigal Chattah.

If we want to move our country forward and expand affordable health care, address climate change, reform our criminal justice system, end gun violence and fight for an economy that works for everyone, we must elect not just a president who will stand for these policies, but also state attorneys general who share those values.

The future of our democracy depends on it.

Aaron Ford is the Nevada attorney general and a member of the Democratic Attorneys General Association Executive Committee. 

Back to top

SHARE