60 Facts About Paul Laxalt

Paul Dominique Laxalt was an American attorney and politician who served as the 22nd governor of Nevada from 1967 to 1971 and a United States senator representing Nevada from 1974 until 1987.

Paul Laxalt was the older brother of writer Robert Laxalt and maternal grandfather of Adam Laxalt, who served as the 33rd attorney general of Nevada from 2015 to 2019.

Paul Laxalt was born on August 2,1922, in Reno, Nevada.

Paul Laxalt was the son of Basque parents, Therese and Dominique Laxalt, who emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s from their homeland in the French Pyrenees.

Therese and Dominique had six children: Paul Laxalt, Robert was born on in 1923), Suzanne, John, Marie (1928 and and Peter.

The Paul Laxalt children were raised largely by their mother, as Dominique spent long periods of time away from the household tending his sheep in the deserts and mountains of Nevada.

Paul Laxalt played on the 1938 state basketball champion team at Carson High School before graduating and attending Santa Clara University.

When World War II broke out, Paul Laxalt joined the US Army and served as a medic, seeing action in the Battle of Leyte in the Philippines.

Paul Laxalt's first run for statewide office came in 1962 when he ran for Lieutenant Governor against former Rep.

Rex Bell, a former Hollywood actor who had persuaded Paul Laxalt to run with him on the GOP "ticket", died of a heart attack.

Paul Laxalt ended up defeating Bunker by a comfortable margin.

Paul Laxalt served one term as lieutenant governor from 1963 to 1967.

In 1964, while serving as lieutenant governor, Paul Laxalt ran for the United States Senate against freshman Democratic incumbent Sen.

Paul Laxalt did not have to give up his lieutenant governor's post for this race, since he was not up for reelection until 1966.

Paul Laxalt's advisors told him he should "duck" Goldwater, as they feared any association with Goldwater would spell trouble.

Paul Laxalt took the position that Nevada had to cooperate with "the Feds" in order to be in a position to regulate gambling credibly.

Paul Laxalt served one term as governor, from January 1967 to January 1971.

Paul Laxalt allowed Hughes to secure his gaming license without appearing before the state's gaming regulatory authorities because he thought having an internationally acclaimed businessman involved in Nevada gaming would send a positive signal about the legitimacy of the industry.

Paul Laxalt supported corporate ownership of gaming operations in Nevada, which helped pave the way for modern-day gambling.

Ronald Reagan of neighboring California, Paul Laxalt helped create the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency, to protect scenic Lake Tahoe.

Paul Laxalt expanded the park system and promoted prison reform in Nevada.

Paul Laxalt met personally with several prisoners who described to the governor the deplorable conditions under which they were living.

Paul Laxalt sympathized with their concerns and ordered the prison staff to address the problems.

In 1970, Paul Laxalt lobbied President Richard Nixon to reduce the prison sentence of notorious Teamster leader Jimmy Hoffa after Hoffa was convicted of attempting to bribe Sen.

Paul Laxalt governed Nevada as a fiscal conservative, but felt compelled to raise taxes at the outset of his administration because of the budget situation.

Paul Laxalt bequeathed a budget surplus to his successor, Gov.

Paul Laxalt left office saying that he had "a gut-full" of politics.

Alan Bible announced his retirement, Republican political insiders pressed Paul Laxalt to re-enter politics and seek the open US Senate seat.

Paul Laxalt eventually agreed and wound up running against the Democratic nominee, then-Lt.

Nonetheless, early in the campaign, Paul Laxalt enjoyed a consistent but tight lead over Reid in most polls.

Indeed, throughout his Senate tenure, Paul Laxalt remained popular among his colleagues, principally because he was viewed as a "straight shooter" and someone who never allowed political differences to turn personal.

Kennedy, Laxalt arranged to have President Ronald Reagan present Ethel Kennedy with the original copy of the medal honoring her late husband Robert F Kennedy.

When Republicans took control of the Senate in 1981, Paul Laxalt became chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Regulatory Reform Subcommittee, and the Appropriations Committee's State, Justice and Commerce Subcommittee.

In 1986, while serving on the Judiciary Committee, Paul Laxalt played a key behind-the-scenes role in securing the committee's approval of President Reagan's nomination of then-Associate Justice William Rehnquist for Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Joe Biden from Delaware, Paul Laxalt was able to strike a deal that allowed the committee to vote on the nomination.

Paul Laxalt had become close friends with Ronald Reagan during his time as governor, when Reagan was in his first term as governor of neighboring California.

Paul Laxalt was national chairman of three Reagan presidential campaigns and placed Reagan's name in nomination at the Republican National Conventions of 1976,1980, and 1984.

At the behest of President Reagan, Paul Laxalt served in the then-unprecedented role of General Chairman of the Republican Party from 1983 to 1987.

In early 1987, Paul Laxalt was at the top of the short list to replace Donald Regan as White House Chief of Staff, but he declined because he intended to run for President in 1988.

Ford enjoyed widespread support among the Republican establishment, particularly in Washington, DC Reagan decided that having Paul Laxalt serve as his national chairman would give his campaign credibility it was otherwise lacking.

Paul Laxalt eventually acceded to Reagan's request, even though doing so severely jeopardized his relationship with the Ford White House.

Paul Laxalt campaigned all over the United States on behalf of Reagan, often campaigning by his side.

When Reagan defeated Democratic incumbent President Jimmy Carter in 1980, with Paul Laxalt again serving as national chairman of Reagan's campaign, Paul Laxalt's profile rose even higher.

Paul Laxalt denied knowing about skimming activities and, in fact, denied that any skimming whatsoever had taken place.

Paul Laxalt declared that pretrial investigations had found no evidence of the wrongdoing at issue.

The Bee maintained that it did not commit libel because it had not stated that Paul Laxalt was involved in wrongdoing; it had merely reported that a third party held suspicions that wrongdoing had taken place at the Ormsby House.

Paul Laxalt was quoted as saying that the case had proven the Bees allegations to be without basis.

Paul Laxalt retired from the Senate in 1987 and was replaced by the man he had defeated in 1974, Harry Reid, who would go on to become the Senate Majority Leader and the longest-serving US Senator from Nevada.

Paul Laxalt made a brief run for the Republican presidential nomination for the 1988 election in 1987.

The campaign lasted only four months after Paul Laxalt determined that the effort had fallen short of its fundraising goals.

Paul Laxalt later formed a small government consulting firm known as The Paul Laxalt Group.

Paul Laxalt was honored in various ways both during and after his public service career.

The Paul Laxalt State Building in Carson City was formerly the US Post Office and the first Federal building erected in Nevada.

Paul Laxalt was married in 1946 to Jackalyn Ross, the daughter of John Rolly Ross, who was a federal judge in Nevada.

Paul Laxalt was married to his second wife, Carol, until his death.

Paul Laxalt had one daughter from a previous marriage.

Adam Paul Laxalt's paternity was not publicly acknowledged by his parents until 2013.

At that time, Domenici acknowledged that Paul Laxalt was his son and was born as a result of an extramarital liaison.

Paul Laxalt died on August 6,2018, at a health care facility in McLean, Virginia, four days after his 96th birthday.

Paul Laxalt treated me, and everyone, with the utmost respect and friendship.