Nationally, there has been a surge of attacks on women running for office and elected officials serving in state and local governments. It’s happening in Nevada, too.
Democratic Assemblywoman Angie Taylor has always been interested in politics. So in 2014, when an opportunity opened up on the Washoe County School District Board of Trustees, she went for it.
She rose to school board president. But during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, after the school district returned to in-person learning for a year and required masks following state mandates, things changed.
“I wouldn’t go to my car after meetings without having a police escort,” Taylor said.
The atmosphere at weekly school board meetings had turned ugly.
“Some of the vitriol that people would say from the podium, personally attacking me, and putting my address out on social media and saying, ‘Let’s drag her out of her house,’ ” Taylor said.
But she didn’t back down. Against the advice of law enforcement, Taylor held a public town hall.
“The vast majority of people want to have access. For good reasons. Not for let’s come and harass, and intimidate, and boo, and hold up signs, and make accusations that are just not true,” Taylor said. “There were parents that needed help with things. I can’t not serve them.”
First-time candidate Val Thomason said the harassment began almost immediately. She’s a progressive Democrat running for state assembly in Las Vegas. It started with a barrage of emails to her and her boss attacking her for being a single mom and facing an eviction.
“Generally, the vibe was that they thought I was not qualified to run for office,” Thomason said.
Later, attack mailers included Thomason’s personal cell phone number. Callers left sexually explicit voicemails. Thomason questioned whether she was strong enough to continue her campaign. She also weighed how visible she wanted her son to be while running.
“I feel like I am vulnerable as a single mother, and I’m also on the left, and my son is biracial. So those things combined together does make me nervous that there could be some kind of white supremacist attack or far-right extremists attacking us,” Thomason said. “But ultimately, I have very good friends, I have a father who’s very protective, and I felt like it was worth the risk to do this.”
According to a report released this year by the Brennan Center for Justice, 43% of state legislators have experienced threats. Officeholders of color, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and Republicans are disproportionately impacted.
Gowri Ramachandran, the deputy director of the elections and government program, co-authored the report. She said it’s sobering that elected officials were less likely to take a stance on controversial policy.
“I also was really struck by how many lawmakers indicated that they’re less willing to do even traditional media appearances, to hold public events,” Ramachandran said. “It’s reducing people’s willingness to engage in those traditional avenues of interacting with voters, letting them know one’s position on the issues, really core parts of our democracy and civic engagement.”
The report provided recommendations like having community and political leaders publicly denounce the abuses, authorities to better monitor and analyze threats, and regulating firearms where lawmakers interact with the public.
In Nevada, elected officials can petition the court to remove personal information contained in Secretary of State, county, or city clerk records, but that option isn’t available until they’re elected.
The national nonprofit Vote Run Lead, which recruits, retains, and supports women running for office, incorporated campaign safety into its in-person conference for candidates and through digital guides. Chief political officer Sabrina Shulman said candidates have become aware that there’s a possibility that harassment and violence will be part of the political picture.
“There’s a whole other group of women who are just like, it’s a deal breaker,” Shulman said. “And it’s really unfortunate because the reality is that it still takes many more asks and much more convincing to get women to run as compared to men.”
While the vitriol has forced some lawmakers to leave office, it hasn’t deterred Assemblywoman Angie Taylor. She’s running for a state senate seat representing Washoe County. As she campaigns, she’s mindful when knocking on doors.
“What hurts me a lot is that we’ve gotten to this point in politics, in their own community,” Taylor said. “I am so very patriotic and believe so much in this country, and our values, and what we stand for.”
KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck reported this story as part of the National Press Foundation’s Women in Politics Journalism Fellowship.
Produced with assistance from the Public Media Journalists Association Editor Corps funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the American people.
