1,500 hear GOP presidential hopefuls in Gardnerville

More than 1,500 people flocked to Gardnerville on Saturday for one of the biggest gatherings of 2016 presidential candidates in Nevada since campaign season started.

Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s Morning Nevada PAC hosted the first Basque Fry featuring five GOP contenders on the Corley Ranch southeast of town. Republican hopefuls including businesswoman Carly Fiorina, Dr. Ben Carson, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker each made pitches to the crowd as to why they should be the nominee. Former New York Gov. George Pataki was slated to appear, but did not.

The candidates stuck to many of the issues they have addressed during a primary season packed with 17 hopefuls for the GOP candidacy, including federal regulations, slashing taxes and Democrat Hillary Clinton’s record.

All four of the candidates stuck to a similar message of being a Washington outsider ready to reform the machine.

Carson, a neurosurgeon famous for operating on conjoined twins, said he was not concerned about losing ground in Nevada, with recent endorsements made by Sen. Dean Heller and Carson City GOP Rep. Mark Amodei – who was a speaker at the event – for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush. Amodei said he was at the event to support the party and did not want to see divisiveness tear the field apart before the 2016 election.

“I don’t really care about the endorsements. I care about the people,” Carson said in an interview before his speech. “My campaign is all about the people. That’s why you don’t see me going around licking the boots of millionaires and working with special interests.”

Cruz agreed and said he was not fazed by Bush’s endorsements.

“It should not surprise anyone that Jeb Bush is going to clean up in endorsements from Washington politicians,” he said. “If you’re looking for a candidate who’s not going to change Washington, who’s going to continue Washington in the same basic direction, if you’re looking for the candidate of the status quo, I ain’t your guy.”

Walker said after his speech campaigning in rural Nevada is important, just like anywhere else, and he’s hoping to plan another campaign in rural areas while riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

“We’ll be all over the place,” he said. “My state, out of 72 counties, we won 60 of the 72. That means rural areas are just as important as areas with big cities, and we’ll make sure we do that here.”

The message of each candidate resonated with attendees, who cheered and shouted words of encouragement through everyone’s speech.

Cameron Pedego of Minden said he was pleased the candidates decided to focus on the country event rather than stay on the east coast.

“This is outstanding. Why do they need to go to the east?” he said. “This is a much better deal. With Nevada being such an important deal this year, this is the place to be.”

Emily Lanphear drove three hours from Big Pine, Calif., to join in the festivities. She said having this many candidates on one stage is important for discourse.

“They deserve to have a platform to voice their opinions and get the message out,” he said. “It’s important for the community to be able to come together and celebrate amongst likeminded individuals.”

Not everyone who came out had his or her mind made up as far as whom to support. While each candidate had a large number of supporters waving signs and handing out stickers, people like Carle Ferarri of Reno said she came to see the whole field.

“We came out here to have a look to stay better informed,” she said. “It’s so wonderful that so many people are this interested. And it’s really telling that we’re ready for a Republican.”

Republican heavyweights from Nevada deemed the barbecue a success.

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Henderson, who is running to replace retiring Nevada U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, said the event showed rural parts of the state could not be ignored by any of the candidates.

“They realize, as they should, that Nevada is an important state,” he said. “Nevada has picked the winning presidential candidate for almost 50 years with the exception of one time. They know Nevada picks winners.”

Candidates and attendees alike were offered a meal of stewed lamb fries.