(James DeHaven | Reno Gazette-Journal) – Campaign finance records show Amodei in December also made a $2,500 donation to divisive Mesquite Assemblywoman Annie Black, who attended the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally that turned violent at the Capitol.
Black responded to calls for her resignation by saying she never breached the barricades nor entered the Capitol, adding that those who did should be punished “severely.”
Amodei’s campaign contribution to Black was the first to pop up in state records since 2017, when he cut a $500 check to the Lyon County Republican Central Committee. He has made only three other donations to a state candidates over the past seven years, according to filings from the Nevada Secretary of State’s office — all to Adam Laxalt ahead of his successful 2014 campaign for attorney general.
Laxalt chaired Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign in Nevada and helped orchestrate a slew of failed lawsuits meant to stop the ballot tally in the Silver State. He’s also one of a handful of high-profile Nevada Republicans who may challenge Amodei for Gov. Steve Sisolak’s seat in 2022.
Amodei’s Dec. 30 donation to Black’s campaign arrived well after she had first gained media attention for promoting baseless election fraud claims and declining to caucus with other Republicans in Carson City.
Amodei said he didn’t know Black very well, but was impressed by her appearances at a series of GOP-hosted Lincoln Day dinners in rural Nevada two years ago.
The congressman said he was later approached by Black’s campaign consultants, who asked if Amodei could make a donation to help out with her office expenses at the state Legislature.
He said future political considerations did not play a part in the move.
“Anytime somebody from Clark County shows up at a Lincoln Day Dinner, it gets my attention,” Amodei told the RGJ. “I don’t try to tack toward anything (before a primary election).
“I know some of the base is upset with me about voting to support the election. I get that.
“But I went to a (Republican) central committee meeting in Elko two weeks ago. … I didn’t ever feel threatened and most of them clapped politely when I was done.”
Black — a former city councilwoman from Mesquite who pulled more than $21,000 out of her own pocket on the way to ousting ex-Assemblyman Chris Edwards — confirmed Amodei’s account in a brief Friday phone interview.
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