If you participated in “Dry January” you should be very happy. It seems like the month came and went in record speed.
We are seeing a lot of new candidates come out of the woodwork filing for the constitutional, legislative, and local government races throughout the state. Keep an eye on the running metric as we update the races. The formal filing period for all races begins March 7th and runs through March 18th and I expect more candidates to jump in and others to have second thoughts. We shall see.
Leading up to the filing date, those committed candidates and the caucus’ that lead them are busy asking for money with fundraisers, mailing, social media, phone calls and texts coming in daily. Leadership in both houses and both parties are busy interviewing candidates and we expect a flurry of press releases in the coming month announcing their caucus endorsements. That news will be good for many, not so good for others. Imagine working hard as a candidate, raising money, hiring a team, putting together strategy only for your own party to give the nod to someone else.
That was the case recently in Senate District 16. Ben Kieckhefer held the seat but was termed out after the 2021 Legislative Session. He resigned the seat early and accepted a coveted appointment to the Nevada Gaming Commission. Don Tatro was selected to finish out the term largely based on his commitment not to run in 2022.
Assemblywoman Lisa Krasner has been campaigning for the Senate seat for months doggedly raising money and telling everyone that she was the front-runner. Tatro changed his mind and decided to run for the seat. Yesterday he received the endorsement from the Senate Republican Caucus. That’s not good for Krasner but knowing her well, she will still put up a fight and could win the Primary in June.
There will be more changes in the coming weeks. Keep an eye out for updates.
Just in case you missed it:
Senator Joe Hardy has been term limited and is leaving the Legislature after a long history of public service. Now, he’s running for Mayor:
twitter.com/electjoehardy/status/1488008714363703305
Sitting Nevada Senator, Pat Spearman, wants to be Mayor too:
twitter.com/Senatorspearman/status/1488233119882829833
The Nevada Resort Association has a new PAC:
nevadaresorts.org/press/articles/013122_PAC_launch_Release.pdf
Former US Senator turned gubernatorial candidate Dean Heller says Biden is an “illegitimate” POTUS:
Congressional Races:
“Democratic Rep. Susie Lee announced more than $620,000 in fourth-quarter fundraising on Monday, raising her cash on hand to nearly $1.79 million as the 2022 midterms draw closer.”
“They (Republicans) include April Becker, who narrowly lost a state Senate bid in 2020; construction company owner John Kovacs; Army veteran and attorney Noah Malgeri; UNLV machine shop manager Clark Bossert; and Reinier Prijten, who ran and lost a Republican congressional primary bid in New Jersey in 2020. Lee also faces one primary challenger in Democrat Randell Hynes, an Army veteran and software developer who told The Nevada Independent in an email that he raised $0 during the fourth quarter.”
I expect April Becker will prevail in the June Primary Election and will give Lee a real run for her money in November
Full story: thenevadaindependent.com/article/susie-lee-announces-620000-fourth-quarter-fundraising-haul
What we’re doing this Interim:
The 2021 Nevada Legislature passed Assembly Bill 443, Legislation that fundamentally changed the way the Legislature operates between Sessions. The newly formed Interim Standing Committees have begun meeting, hearing overviews of their mission and setting agendas for the next eleven months. They continue to meet via video conference but we’re hopeful that by Spring some will begin to meet in person.
Campaign Contribution and Expense (C&E Reports) are being scrutinized and our friends at The Nevada Independent have great coverage: You can see the stories here: The Nevada Independent – Your state. Your news. Your voice. The NV Indy is a great non-profit news source, and we encourage everyone to register, read daily and support local journalism.
Please see below for an overview of the political landscape in Nevada provided by the Tom Clark Solutions team.
Political News
End-of-Year (2021) Fundraising totals have been reported to the FEC. See below for a breakdown of the fundraising totals for statewide and congressional candidates.
Do we really need two more ballot initiatives? One is focused on voter ID, the other repeals AB321, legislation passed in 2021 that codified the distribution of mail-in ballots. Both were filed last week. Backers must gain 140,777 valid signatures by the end of June for this initiative to be on the 2022 ballot.
NV GOP leaders have been subpoenaed by Congress over their role in a fake elector scheme that during the 2020 election.
Economic News
Nevada tied with Alaska for its average monthly quit rate of 3.8%, according to an analysis by Chamberofcommerce.org.
rgj.com/story/news/money/business/2022/01/31/great-resignation-nevada-unemployment/9259421002/
Reno area startups raise a record $1.4 billion in funding for 2021, 15 times more capital from the previous year, with battery technology companies leading the charge.
2021 Redistricting Maps
The new boundaries would give 14 of the 21 state Senate districts and 27 of the 42 Assembly districts a voter registration advantage for Democrats over Republicans of more than 4.5 percent.
The Nevada Independent
Please see the links below to view the new district lines for Nevada Assembly, Senate and Congressional delegation.