Adam Laxalt

Laxalt did not run for re-election, choosing instead to run for Nevada state governor; he was succeeded by Democrat Aaron Ford on January 7, 2019.

Also revealed for the first time in September 2018, Laxalt was issued eight traffic tickets — including five for speeding— between 1996 and 2006 in Virginia and Maryland, where he spent most of his life before moving to Nevada in 2011. One citation was for driving 82 mph in a 55 mph zone in August 2003. Laxalt was fined $140 and ordered to appear in court, but did not show up and did not pay the fine until August 2018, 15 years later.

Laxalt was the Republican nominee for Governor of Nevada in the 2018 election, defeating four other candidates to win the nomination. Laxalt lost to Democratic nominee and chair of the Clark County Commission Steve Sisolak in the general election; Sisolak become the first Democrat to win the governorship in 20 years.

U.S. Senator Dean Heller, Lieutenant Governor Mark Hutchison, State Treasurer and 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary candidate Dan Schwartz, former Reno mayor Bob Cashell and Sparks mayor Geno Martini endorsed Laxalt.

In 2017, Laxalt spoke at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum in Atlanta, Georgia. In his speech, Laxalt criticized a bill passed by the Nevada Senate, comparing the bill to the film Minority Report, saying the bill was based in “a concept called pre-crime” and would allow the government to “take your second amendment rights based merely on suspicion or threat.” In 2018, months after the NRA published a video calling greater adoption of these laws, Laxalt recommended that the legislature consider such a law in 2018, though he would not comment on if such laws were constitutional. Laxalt was slated to speak at the NRA's 2018 annual conference until his photo was mysteriously removed from the event website, days after the Parkland shooting, raising questions about what happened and whether he still planned to attend.

Laxalt was endorsed by Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro in November 2017 after he announced his candidacy. Laxalt faced scrutiny for declining to disavow Antinoro's campaign support. Antinoro was accused of rape in 2014. A 2016 independent investigation found that Antinoro sexually harassed his top deputy. Storey County Administrator Austin Osborne said in a deposition that “numerous…more than 10” complaints including sexual harassment allegations were filed against Antinoro. After the sexual harassment investigation, Antinoro faced a recall election. In April 2018, Tahoe-Reno Industrial Center called on Laxalt to rescind the endorsement and to investigate multiple allegations of sexual harassment against Antinoro. In May 2018, Laxalt dismissed criticism of his refusal to reject the endorsement or denounce Antinoro as “political theatrics.” Laxalt was scheduled to campaign with Antinoro at the end of May 2018 but Antinoro announced he would not attend after the event was picked up in media. In July 2018, Laxalt released the long-awaited investigative report into Antinoro and announced that he would not pursue criminal charges. The investigation was criticized for not interviewing Antinoro, alleged co-perpetrators or multiple rape victims. After the investigation concluded, Laxalt announced he would no longer campaign with Antinoro or use his endorsement. An October 2018 letter showed that the Attorney's General office met with former deputy sheriff Melanie Keener in early 2016, at which time the deputy shared details of Antinoro's history of sexually harassing employees.

Laxalt was sworn in as the 33rd Attorney General of Nevada on January 5, 2015. His inauguration made him the youngest Attorney General in the United States at the time of his election.

Laxalt first worked for then-Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs John R. Bolton, before joining the office of Virginia U.S. Senator John Warner. After leaving Washington, Laxalt worked for the law firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie at its Reno office until 2014, when he left the firm to concentrate on his bid for Attorney General. He opposed the full repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell" in 2010.

After practicing with Lewis Roca Rothgerber, Laxalt considered a campaign for Nevada Attorney General. In January 2014, he announced his candidacy. Laxalt was the Republican nominee in the general election, and overcame issues including negative performance evaluations from his law firm which were leaked to the press and claims that he was a carpetbagger too new to Nevada to be considered for statewide office. In the general election, he defeated Democratic nominee Ross Miller and minor-party candidate Jonathan Hansen.

Laxalt was born in Reno, Nevada, the son of Pete Domenici, a Republican U.S. Senator from New Mexico, and Michelle Laxalt. He is the grandson of former Republican Nevada Governor and U.S. Senator Paul Laxalt. Laxalt's mother raised him as a single parent. Laxalt's paternity was not publicly acknowledged by his parents until 2013. At that time, Domenici acknowledged that Laxalt was his son and was born as a result of an extramarital affair.

Laxalt served in the United States Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps from July 2005 to August 2010. His assignments included instructing law courses at the United States Naval Academy, and he volunteered for a posting to Camp Victory, Iraq during the Iraq War. He attained the rank of lieutenant, and his awards included the Iraq Campaign Medal and Joint Service Commendation Medal.

After graduating from St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School, a college preparatory school in Alexandria, Virginia, he enrolled at Tulane University. After attending Tulane for two years, where he admitted to having drinking problems, he transferred to Georgetown University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 2001 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then graduated from Georgetown University Law Center with a Juris Doctor degree in 2005.

In 1997, Laxalt was arrested for driving under the influence after he was pulled over and taken to a Virginia police station, where he was found to have a high blood-alcohol content. Laxalt was treated for alcoholism at the Hazelden Foundation near Minneapolis.

Adam Paul Laxalt (born August 31, 1978) is an American attorney and Republican Party politician who served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. He unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Nevada, losing to Democrat Steve Sisolak in the 2018 gubernatorial election.