Opening remarks
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
No remarks today, just vibes.
Tabitha Mueller of The Nevada Independent wrote an excellent two-part in-depth preview of the state Senate and Assembly races, and notes which races will likely be decided during the primaries in June.
Part 1: Republicans eye competitive state Senate primary races as potential flips
Part 2: Handful of competitive primaries could shape GOP chances to gain Assembly ground
Be sure to check out our 2022 Election Candidate List – your one stop shop for all things 2022 candidates. You can find links to every candidate’s website, see which candidates have withdrawn their candidacy and the voter registration breakdown of each district. In fact, we’ve just added the latest voter registration statistics from the Secretary of State’s website. Check it out.
Important Deadlines
| Primary Early Voting | May 28 – June 10 |
| Primary Election | Tuesday June 14, 2022 |
| General Early Voting | October 22 – November 4 |
| General Election | Tuesday November 8, 2022 |
ICYMI
Jason Frierson confirmed as U.S. Attorney for Nevada
Democratic Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson made history last week after the U.S Senate confirmed his nomination to serve a four-year term as U.S. attorney for Nevada, the first black man to hold the office for the Silver State. Frierson will eventually step down from his role as Speaker, though logistics are still being determined. Nothing is set in stone as for who the next Speaker will be, but there is little room for guessing given that Assemblyman Steve Yeager is the current Speaker Pro Temp and Chair of the Legislative Commission, a body of 12 legislators who act on behalf of the legislative branch of when the full Legislature is not in session and Democrats are expected to maintain their majority in the Lower House.
Democratic Governors Association announces $75 million ad buys in key states, including Nevada
The DGA reserved $10 million in ad buys for Nevada, the third largest allocation of the eight states named. This investment comes after poll results from the Morning Consult showed Gov. Sisolak with an approval rating of 51% and a disapproval rating of 41%. The Cook Political Report, a non-partisan organization that analyzes elections and campaigns across the nation, rated the Governor’s race in Nevada a Toss up, one of only five this election cycle.
Nevada Republican Party Does Not Endorse Frontrunners
The Nevada Republican Party voted this past Saturday at their convention to endorse Joey Gilbert for Governor and Sam Brown for U.S. Senate for their respective primaries. These endorsements may come as a bit of a surprise, given that Joe Lombardo and Adam Laxalt have been the proposed frontrunners for these two races and are both endorsed by Donald Trump, who announced his endorsement of Lombardo just last week. And yesterday, new polling results from Emerson College/The Hill gauging who likely Republican voters will vote for in June’s primaries are an about-face from the state’s convention results: Laxalt leads Brown by 23 percentage points in the GOP Senate Primary and Lombardo leads with GOP Gubernatorial Primary with 33% support, followed by Gilbert with 14% support. Perhaps the biggest takeaway of all this information is that Joey Gilbert is polling higher with Republicans than pundits previously anticipated.
Economic News
Housing: Reno rents reach another record high but increases expected to moderate
“Reno-Sparks recorded an average monthly rent of $1,633 during the first quarter of 2022… The figure is up from $1,616 during the previous quarter and edges out the previous record of $1,632 set during the third quarter of last year. Since 2020, Reno-Sparks has set new record highs for average rent in seven of the last eight quarters.”
Nevada has 13th straight $1 billion month for gaming
“Las Vegas Strip casinos recorded their third-highest revenue month of all time. The Gaming Control Board said that Nevada’s $1.355 billion gaming revenue figure in March trailed only July 2021, which holds the record at $1.59 billion. Analysts credited the locals’ gaming markets and slot machine players with driving Nevada to its 13th straight gaming revenue month of more than $1 billion.” That’s Vegas baby!
Harry Reid International (LAS) named 10th busiest airport in the world
Based on total number of passengers data from Airports Council International, LAS was the 10th busiest airport in the world during 2021. “The ACI World passenger traffic rankings tell the story of an encouraging trend of recovery, with most of the recurrent busiest airports pre-COVID-19 back at the top,” ACI World Director General Luis Felipe de Oliveira said. The #1 busiest airport in the world was Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Environment News
Lithium Americas announces investment in Green Technology
“Lithium Americas Corp., which is advancing the Thacker Pass lithium project north of Winnemucca, has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire shares of Green Technology Metals Ltd. (GT1) in a share placement for a total consideration of $10 million. GT1 is a North American focused lithium exploration and development company with hard rock spodumene assets in northwest Ontario, Canada.”
US to hold back Lake Powell water to protect hydropower
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced plans this week to hold back almost half a million acre-feet of water in Lake Powell to ensure the Glen Canyon Dam near the Utah-Arizona border maintains its hydropower production for millions of homes and businesses in the region. This news comes after several major announcements last week: (1) Colorado River Basin States, including Nevada, support emergency action to keep water in Lake Mead, one of two of the main storage reservoirs of the Colorado River, (2) Southern Nevada Water officials turned on Lake Mead’s “low lake level pumping station” to allow Las Vegas to pump out water from even deeper and (3) the Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and ordered outdoor usage be restricted to just one day a week for around 6 million people in parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties, and Las Vegas.
Implementation of First-in-the-Nation Non-Functional Turf Ban Begins in Southern Nevada
From the New York Times: With drought and growth taking a toll on the Colorado River, the source of 90 percent of the region’s water, a new law in Las Vegas mandates the removal of turf, patch by patch.
This law, AB356, passed with bipartisan support during the 2021 Legislative Session and was sponsored by Assemblyman Howard Watts, Chair of the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. The Southern Nevada Water Authority estimates there are about 3,900 acres of grass to be removed, which could yield savings of up to 9.5 billion gallons of water annually, or about 10 percent of the region’s allocation from the Colorado River.
Outdoor Recreation Lessons from Nevada
“Home to the nation’s first National Recreation Area, five distinct ecoregions, 27 State Parks, 60 million acres of accessible public lands, and 4,000 species of wildlife. Nevada was an ideal venue to learn more about the recent surge in outdoor engagement across the nation in light of the pandemic and its implications for environmental decision-making.”
Healthcare News
Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center is officially open, accepting patients
Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center will add 170 hospital beds to the region. Each room will be private and can be converted into an ICU room if needed. The full-service hospital includes specialties such as pediatrics, anesthesia, and obstetrics and gynecology. The hospital also has a 24/7 emergency room as well as labor and delivery, oncology, cardiovascular, neurosurgical and orthopedic and surgical services.
Northern Nevada Sierra Medical Center is located at 625 Innovation Drive between Longley Lane and Double R Boulevard.
Infrastructure News
Transportation in Nevada – Challenges and Opportunities
“Everything everywhere seems to be backordered, backlogged, or just unavailable. But what’s broadly referred to as supply chain issues are often labor shortages, manufacturing shortages and even shortages of trucks and trailers necessary to transport everything. Sometimes supply chain issues are really logistics issues.”
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.
Click here to view a list of upcoming Joint Interim Standing Committee meetings.
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.