As Russia-Ukraine war rages, Nevada secretary of state candidate bashes President Zelensky

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine enters its third week, a top Republican contender for secretary of state in Nevada questioned whether videos emerging from the war were real and called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's emotional speech before Congress on Wednesday morning "a ruse."

Zelensky, who has emerged as a unifying figure in a Congress where both parties rarely agree, received a standing ovation from U.S. lawmakers Wednesday before and after his live-video plea for military aid and more drastic economic sanctions against Russia.

Ohio GOP Sen. Rob Portman lauded Zelensky as "one of those rare figures who can actually help direct the course of history." And Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said "the man met the moment."

But former Nevada assemblyman Jim Marchant, a Trump loyalist running to replace term-limited Barbara Cegavske as the Silver State's chief election officer, said Wednesday in a conservative talk show appearance that Zelensky, who is Jewish, "is no different than Biden, Clinton, Obama and that cabal."

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"We need to support the people in Ukraine that are not the Bidens, the Clintons, the Cabal,"  Marchant said.

A cabal refers to a group of people plotting against a government or person of authority. The term is derived from Kabbalah, a mystical method of interpreting Hebrew scripture. But "the Cabal," according to the Anti-Defamation League, refers to a conspiracy theory that "a shadowy group of overlords" control the world.

"I feel very badly for the people that are the good people over there that are getting caught up in this mess," Marchant said. "But, you know, there are consequences for not doing what we should have done decades ago, and that is taking down the Cabal. And I think we're doing that right now."

Despite no evidence of widespread fraud or improper vote counting in Nevada, Marchant, who has made election denial a key part of his campaign, then segued into what he described as "the election fraud issue."

"If we fix our election system nationwide," he said, "we're going to fix the world."

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Asked multiple times on Wednesday by the show's host for his thoughts on the "unbelievable destruction" in Ukraine captured on video, Marchant said he doesn't "believe it" and attempted to steer the conversation toward his campaign.

"I'm not running for president of the world. I'm not running for president of the United States," Marchant said. "I'm running for secretary of state right here in Nevada. We got big problems here."

Confirmed candidates for secretary of state in Nevada include Democrat Cisco Aguilar, a Las Vegas attorney and former Harry Reid staffer, and Republicans Kris Dahir, a Sparks Councilman, one-time state senator Jesse Haw and former Clark County District Court Judge Richard Scotti.

On Friday morning, Dahir said he has "an obligation to respond" to Marchant's comments. 

"The speech and the actions by the Russians are not a trick or an act of deception. This is a war and people are losing their lives," the councilman said in the statement. "To insinuate that it is a 'ruse' or anything else is either foolish or an intentionally hateful comment.”

Nevada's filing period closing 5 p.m. Friday.

Rio Lacanlale is the Las Vegas correspondent for the Reno Gazette Journal and the USA Today Network. Contact her at rlacanlale@gannett.com or on Twitter @riolacanlale. Support local journalism by subscribing to the RGJ today.