Amber Phillips

Story Archive

What Bill Clinton’s visit to Las Vegas says about Nevada in 2014 election
Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2014
Former President Bill Clinton is coming to Las Vegas today to to try to energize Nevada Democrats for the Nov. 4 election, but the high-profile visit by the party's ...
How critical is the Hispanic vote this election?
Monday, Oct. 27, 2014
We're into the final week of campaigning for this election. In just eight days, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate. The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in ...
With Horsford under attack, Democrats fighting back
Friday, Oct. 24, 2014
Washington Democrats are coming to a colleague’s aid after a Republican outside group decided to throw almost $1 million against the Democratic candidate in a sleepy Nevada congressional race. The House Democrats’ campaign arm is spending ...
Bill Clinton coming to Nevada to shore up Democratic support
Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014
With two weeks before the election, President Bill Clinton is planning to come to Nevada to rally Democratic support at the polls. His team isn’t yet releasing details of when, where and for how long Clinton will be in the state. But his pending trip ...
Conservative PAC buying $820,000 of TV ads aimed at Horsford
Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2014
In a campaign season that’s seen just a trickle of outside spending in Nevada, a national Republican political action committee is buying a surprise wave of political ads to influence ...
Dark money could be election’s October surprise
Monday, Oct. 20, 2014
OK, it's officially crunch time. In just two weeks and one day, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate. The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in the Nov. 4 election, and Reid is one of the main characters. Forecasts predict ...
The stories told by the candidates’ bank accounts
Thursday, Oct. 16, 2014
Two and a half weeks out from the election, Nevada's congressional candidates are trying to send a message to voters with the amount of money they raised this summer. Nevada's federal lawmakers — and those who hope to become federal lawmakers — filed campaign finance reports ...
Steven Horsford launches campaign ads to tap into social networks
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2014
Despite not having a competitive race, Rep. Steven Horsford is taking a page from President Barack Obama's campaign playbook in his re-election campaign. The first-term Democrat is launching an ambitious ...
3 races to watch in the struggle for control of the Senate
Monday, Oct. 13, 2014
In just three weeks, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate. The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in the Nov. 4 election, and Reid is one of the main characters. Forecasts predict Republicans could ...
Who’s the meanest U.S. senator? Washington staffers say that’s Nevada’s Harry Reid
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014
Congress can be a lot like high school. here are the popular kids (often the lawmakers in front of TV cameras), the hanger-oners (often the lobbyists trying to befriend said lawmakers) the nerds (often the policy-wonk staffers) and the misfits ...
What you really need to know about how minimum wage affects the economy
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 2014
Will raising the minimum wage cost people their jobs or boost the economy? The answer is murky ...
Hillary Clinton rallying voters in fight for control of Senate
Monday, Oct. 6, 2014
Democrats have their own superstar this month. No surprise, it's Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state and senator from New York will spend much of October traveling to key states in the battle for the Senate, such as Kentucky. She'll rally voters in places ...
Why a popular Nevada lands deal got held up in Congress
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014
When Nevadans want to change how they use the land they walk on, they often need permission from Congress. That's a fact of life when the federal government owns ...
Vice President Joe Biden to visit Las Vegas on Monday
Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014
Four weeks before the midterm elections, Vice President Joe Biden is returning to Las Vegas. Biden is scheduled ...
With ‘great team’ in place, Bilbray bullish on chances versus Heck
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014
Despite a lack of financial support from some national Democrats and being written off by pundits, congressional candidate Erin Bilbray says she's confident she can win ...
Report: Saving sage grouse habitat smart conservation, economic policy
Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2014
Hunting, fishing and hiking on federal land in Northern Nevada where the sage grouse roams is a multi-​million-dollar industry that could suffer if the bird becomes an endangered species. That's according to a report released Tuesday that ...
Polls strongly favor GOP takeover of Senate
Monday, Sept. 29, 2014
Five weeks is a long time in politics because just about every week, political forecasters shift their predictions about what will happen in November. When it comes to control of the Senate, there's been a steady theme that Republicans are ...
Will Nevada falter if Harry Reid loses the Senate majority?
Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014
As much as anyone, Harry Reid is responsible for building modern-day Nevada. He has leveraged political savvy and ...
Bill settles water dispute between Nevada tribe, ranch
Friday, Sept. 26, 2014
President Barack Obama signed a bill into law today that ends an eight-year dispute over water rights for a Native American tribe in Northern Nevada. The bill ratifies an agreement between ...
Q+A: Voters’ guide for District 4 election and Steven Horsford
Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014
This November, North Las Vegas and northwestern rural voters will decide whether to re-elect their newest representative in Congress, Steven Horsford, who is the ...
Standing of women in U.S. Senate hinges on outcome of election
Monday, Sept. 22, 2014
There are a record 20 female U.S. senators, and women lead the body's negotiations on budget, spending, agriculture, environment and more. But 16 female senators are Democrats, meaning ...
Washington memo: Harry Reid kills Yucca again, Joe Heck earns a promotion
Friday, Sept. 19, 2014
After a tense two weeks in Washington, D.C., Congress wrapped up its business until the Nov. 4 elections. Lawmakers debated the U.S. role ...
Northern Nevada lands bill passes House, heads to Senate
Monday, Sept. 15, 2014
A sweeping lands bill for Northern Nevada that had a bleak outlook just a few months ago passed the House of Representatives with unanimous support Monday. Thought for dead much of this year, legislation to create ...
Expect more attacks from Dems on billionaire Koch brothers
Monday, Sept. 15, 2014
In seven weeks, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate. The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in the Nov. 4 election, and Reid is ...
Q+A: Voters’ guide for the District 2 election and Mark Amodei
Friday, Sept. 12, 2014
In the midst of news of a massive Tesla factory coming to Northern Nevada, the region’s voters will decide this fall whether to re-elect ...
Nevada lawmakers react to president’s plan on Islamic extremists
Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014
As President Barack Obama laid out his plan in a speech Wednesday to counter increasingly violent Islamic extremists, Nevada's congressional lawmakers listened carefully. Underscoring the gravity of the situation, their ...
Titus wants VA benefits for same-sex couples
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014
The scandal surrounding care of veterans at VA hospitals in Phoenix and elsewhere may have faded from the headlines, but two Nevada lawmakers spent their first few days back in Congress pushing other veterans issues. Sen. Dean Heller and Rep. Dina Titus both ...
Congress returns today with goal of funding U.S. government, winning re-election
Monday, Sept. 8, 2014
Congress returns today after a five-week summer break, but lawmakers’ focus will be on politics over policy as they look ahead to the Nov. 4 midterm elections. Here’s what to expect ...
What you need to know today about Nevada’s deal with Tesla
Friday, Sept. 5, 2014
It’s one of the largest tax-breaks-for-your-business deals in history. Gov. Brian Sandoval announced Thursday ...
Q+A: Voters’ guide for the District 1 election and Dina Titus
Friday, Sept. 5, 2014
District 1 is heavily Democratic. Democrat voters outnumber Republicans 2-to-1. Titus has served in Congress before, representing Henderson and Boulder City before the 2011 ...
What you need to know this morning about Nevada’s deal with Tesla
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014
It’s the biggest economic news for Nevada since the 2008 recession. Tesla will build a $5 billion lithium ion battery factory in ...
Rep. Mark Amodei says leaders working to make Tesla look smart for picking Nevada
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014
Tesla’s
Senate showdown: With 9 weeks until Election Day, Harry Reid will stay in national spotlight
Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2014
Nine weeks from today, Nevada Sen. Harry Reid will know if he will still run the U.S. Senate. The campaign to control the Senate is the defining storyline of American politics in the Nov. 4 election ...
After attending Michael Brown’s funeral, Steven Horsford steps further into spotlight on race relations
Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2014
Nevada U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford's decision to join political and black leaders on Monday for the funeral of Michael Brown — the unarmed black teenager shot and killed by a white police officer — is the latest sign that ...
Sen. Harry Reid upbeat about Democrats’ 2014 chances, less confident in Erin Bilbray, education initiative
Thursday, Aug. 21, 2014
Sen. Harry Reid, who runs the Democrats' political machine in Nevada and the U.S. Senate, remains upbeat about Democrats' chances in most, but not all, of the important races this fall. The Senate majority leader, in an interview today with the Las Vegas Sun, repeated ...
As Senate Republicans gain momentum, ‘Fire Harry Reid’ campaign grows louder
Thursday, Aug. 14, 2014
The strategy is to paint Reid, the Senate majority leader, as the boogeyman, especially for voters in Republican-leaning states with contested Senate races that could decide the future of the Senate, said Michael Short, an RNC spokesman. “He’s not a very popular figure, he’s ...
Mark Amodei finds new way to get work done amid congressional gridlock
Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014
In a political climate where getting a single bill passed in Congress can take years, one Nevada lawmaker thinks he’s found a workaround. Rep. Mark Amodei, a Northern Nevada Republican, has gotten yes votes ...
Democrats attack Rep. Joe Heck on immigration in Spanish-language ad
Monday, Aug. 4, 2014
Republican Rep. Joe Heck may have sided with Democrats on a contentious immigration vote Friday, but that hasn’t stopped Democrats from attacking him today. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' official campaign arm, is...
Heck, Amodei defy party in vote to deport Dreamers
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
Facing a contested re-election bid that is increasingly being framed around immigration, Rep. Joe Heck voted against a Republican bid to require the president to deport ...
Bilbray losing ground? Group says Heck ‘in an enviable position’
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
One week after getting a shout out from Vice President Joe Biden and other Democratic stars, congressional candidate Erin Bilbray isn’t having the kind of success her campaign ...
Washington Memo: Horsford mocks Boehner, Titus gets a VA win and Heller fights NSA spying
Friday, Aug. 1, 2014
As Congress closes down today for a five-week break from legislating, lawmakers have little to show for their work. As it turned out, they were unable to ...
Northern Nevada lands bill gets new lease on life
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
A sweeping lands bill for Northern Nevada that had a bleak outlook in Congress just a few months ago suddenly has new life. Legislation to create up to 71,500 acres of wilderness and...
Sen. Heller’s views on gun background checks are more complex than you think
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
The conventional wisdom in Nevada politics is that Sen. Dean Heller doesn’t support expanding background checks for would-be gun owners. The reality may be more nuanced than that.
Rep. Mark Amodei’s bill shows Nevada needs Congress’ OK to do anything with its land
Friday, July 25, 2014
Much of Congress’ attention this week was on the Veterans Affairs Department, from picking its new leader to trying to agree on a health care reform bill before the August recess. Sen. Dean Heller, a Republican, voted with his ...
Dina Titus stands up for military working dogs
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
There are a lot of niche issues for lawmakers to champion in Congress. Rep. Dina Titus, a Las Vegas Democrat, chose a particularly fluffy one today. In between votes and media interviews, Titus...
In a flash, Sen. Dean Heller’s relatives become the cool kids on the Internet
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Being a United States Senator probably makes you the most famous person in your family, right? Not the case for ...
How does a bill become law in Washington? Follow Joe Heck’s case study
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Today, President Barack Obama is signing into law a bill modernizing the nation’s job training programs. A critical component of the bill can be traced back to Nevada’s Rep. Joe Heck ...
Washington Memo: Puppies, Slurpees and bipartisanship in Nevada’s delegation
Friday, July 18, 2014
Sen. Dean Heller bucked his party this week to support his colleague, Sen. Harry Reid. Heller was the only Republican ...
Heller cites ‘corporate incompetence’ at hearing over GM failures
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Sen. Dean Heller blasted what he called “corporate incompetence” at yet another congressional hearing examining how General Motors sold cars that could lose power at any moment, a fault linked to 13 deaths and thousands of crashes. “General Motors failed to understand...
The stories told by the candidates’ bank accounts
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
It’s that time of the campaign cycle when candidates are judged by how much money they’ve raised. Nevada’s congressional lawmakers — and hopeful congressional lawmakers— filed ...