For an “off-year” election, there’s a lot going on, especially in Nevada. Our state’s primary is coming up on June 9 with early voting May 23-June 5. So study up before casting your ballot.
Nevada Governor
Gov. Joe Lombardo is running for reelection. Technically, he’s not unopposed (there are six candidates against him for the Republican nomination), but he might as well be. Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is the leading Democrat to face him in November, but is facing a spirited challenge from Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, who says her efforts to debate are being ignored.
Nevada Lieutenant Governor
Nevada mixes to mix things up, by electing governor and lieutenant governor separately, instead of having candidates running together as a ticket. So yes, you could end up with the top two offices represented by different parties. Incumbent Stavros Anthony is running unopposed. Nevada Assembly majority leader Sandra Jauregui is the leading Democratic challenger among an eclectic field.
Nevada Attorney General
With Ford moving on to seek higher office, the Democrats are left with a choice of Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine and State. Sen Nicole Cannizzaro — and based on frequent ads, both are trying to outdo each other in the “stand up to Trump” lane. Vying for the GOP nomination are Lombardo-backed lawyer Adriana Guzmán Fralick and Danny Tarkanian, an attorney who’s turned a famous last name into a career of perpetually losing elections.
Nevada Treasurer
With Conine out due to term limits, three Democrats are vying to replace him, including Deputy State Treasurer Tya Mathis-Coleman, who can claim the understudy role. Drew Johnson and Jeff Carter are fighting it out on the Republican side, with the latter accusing the former of embellishing his role in DOGE.
Nevada Secretary of State
Secretary of State is usually a ho-hum office to worry about, but takes on greater significance with President Trump laying doubt on the election process. Democratic incumbent Francisco Aguilar will breeze through the primary to face one of four Republicans. Shirley Folkins-Roberts seems to have the edge with a Gov. Lombardo endorsement. Her contenders include famous Harry Reid foil Sharron Angle and former assemblyman Jim Marchant, who’s leaning more heavily into Trump-style election denialism.
Congressional Representatives
Southern Nevada has three Democratic incumbents defending their districts with little opposition within the party. So the main intrigue involves the Republicans challenging them.
Rep. Dina Titus (D) has three primary challengers to overcome before facing one of five Republican contenders to represent District 1, which includes southeast Vegas and Henderson. State Sen. Carrie Ann Buck is the favorite to win the nomination after endorsements from President Trump and Gov. Lombardo.
Rep. Susie Lee (D) has possibly the most moderate district in Nevada — District 3 (Southwest Vegas, and then some). Marty O’Donnell, a video game music composer and former Trump critic has the edge in the Republican field after making nice with the president and earning his endorsement, along with one from Gov. Lombardo.
Rep. Steven Horsford (D), whose District 4 covers the north half of Vegas and a big chunk of rural Nevada, is unopposed in the primary. He’ll face rancher Cody Whipple, attorney Ronda Kennedy, or Anthony D. Snowden (whose website is lax on information).
🤔 But What About Independents?
After 21,000 new Nevada voter registrations in April, Republicans still have a slight lead on Democrats in the state, but both fall far short of independents, who command the plurality at more than 38% (!) of all registered voters. [Las Vegas Sun]
- City Cast Las Vegas looks at how the primary races are shaping up in Nevada, plus the role of independents, who are mostly left out of this early voting process. [City Cast Las Vegas 🎧]
