Well before Republicans fired off a volley of legislation this year to weaken Nevada’s weapon laws, this gun-loving state already had a reputation for its loose firearm restrictions.

Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto on Wednesday launched her campaign for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s seat in 2016 and immediately was endorsed by the Democratic Party hierarchy from Nevada to the nation’s capital.

The glossy mailers started arriving a couple of weeks ago, looking like ordinary campaign ads.

Republicans in control of the Nevada Senate are keeping Democrats on their toes, slipping ideas historically pushed by the Democratic Party into bills backed by the GOP.

A Republican insider who has spoken to Romney fundraisers and advisers said he’s 99 percent sure the two-time White House hopeful will make a third run, a surprising development that sent tremors through the political world last week.

One of the most important issues this election is how Nevada will pave the way for a prosperous future. Unfortunately, the state has neglected Clark County, home to nearly 75 percent of the state’s residents. Nowhere is that more clear than in higher education. In his piece below, David Damore, a UNLV political scientist and fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains how the data show Southern Nevada greatly subsidizes higher education in the rest of the state. That leaves the bulk of Nevada’s college students, who attend school in Clark County, at a great disadvantage. This election, Southern Nevada voters need to elect people who will stop the politics that allow this. It’s not about stealing from Northern or rural Nevada, it’s about being fair. — Brian Greenspun