Opening remarks
The Primary Election in Nevada will be completed this week as Clerks and Registrars finish counting mail-in ballots and County Commissions and the Secretary of State certify the elections. We’ve updated our 2022 candidate list.
I’ve been involved in elections in our state for 20+ years and I can use two words to describe what I saw: unprecedented and unpredictable.
The vitriol thrown by candidates and Political Action Committees was unprecedented. The turn out and the outcomes were unpredictable.
Candidates who campaigned on a platform of election fraud won. (They’ve yet to file a challenge). Many candidates that were endorsed and supported by their respective caucus’ lost, some by double digits. “Newcomers” to statewide races gave U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial front-runners Laxalt and Lombardo a run for their money.
The electorate did “show-up” in greater numbers than previous non-presidential primaries but every registered voter in the state received a ballot in the mail. Depending on the pundit, that was either going to drive participation through the roof or open the door for a tremendous amount of fraud. Neither of those scenarios became reality.
The field has been narrowed, the signs are being removed from front lawns and street corners and the triumphant candidates are preparing for the next 139 days. In the Fall Nevadans will vote, including the ~33% of non-partisans and independent voters who didn’t have say in the Primary.
I can tell you now, based on experience, that the General Election will be:
Unprecedented.
Unpredictable.
We’ll do our best to provide comprehensive coverage over the coming months and will be analyzing candidate positions on the important issues that could become federal, state, and local initiatives.
Important Dates
| 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 |
Nevada 2022 Primary Results Roundup
Below are some takeaways from Nevada’s 2022 primary:
“Election Fraud” candidates up against more moderate GOP candidates prevail on June 7.
Notably Jim Marchant for Secretary of State, Sigal Chattah for Attorney General and Michelle Fiore for Treasurer are all candidates who have campaigned on election fraud conspiracies and have all prevailed in their respective primary.
The seemingly sole exception: Joe Lombardo.
Per The Nevada Independent: The more moderate Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo won a decisive victory over the sprawling field of Republican gubernatorial candidates. However, down the ballot, far-right Republican candidates largely trounced more moderate (and oftentimes better-funded) primary rivals. Jim Marchant, a former Assembly member who has raised his public profile by campaigning on unsubstantiated claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 election, won handedly over Reno-based developer Jesse Haw.
In the state legislative races, we saw party endorsement can go only so far. There were some definite surprises. Several strong candidates did not prevail in their primaries.
Notables: Assembly District 25 saw surprises in both the Democrat and Republican primaries. Alex Goff lost to Selena La Rue Hatch in the Democratic primary and Jacob Williams, who had the endorsement of Jill Tolles, lost to Sam Kumar in the Republican primary. For State Senate District 16, Incumbent & caucus endorsed Don Tatro lost to Lisa Krasner.
“Though only one incumbent was defeated in the primary election, three of five state Senate Republican candidates backed by caucus leadership fell short of victory. In the Assembly, two of seven candidates endorsed by the Assembly GOP caucus were either losing or in races still too close to call on Monday.” – Legislature: Handful of caucus-backed candidates lose in primaries
Red Wave? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
With the nomination of “extreme” Republican candidates instead of the more moderate challenger in several high-profile races, Nevada Democrats may see their candidate prevail in November if non-partisans and moderate Republicans aren’t won over by the farther right policies touted during the primaries. Though, this does not mean these races have been handed to the Democrats, especially considering the ominous trend of the President’s party performing poorly in midterm elections. We know it’s going to be hard work,” said Congresswoman Dina Titus, the dean of the state’s congressional delegation.
Let’s Get Local
Further Reading
Secretary of State’s Office Primary Election Results
Nevada’s 2022 Primary Results from Politico
(They provide great visualizations that break down which counties voted for who in the federal and statewide primaries.)
Education News
Elko’s Great Basin College plans ‘Mining Center for Excellence’
President Joyce Helens said the Nevada Mining Center for Excellence, which is being planned for the National Guard Armory building across the street from the college in Elko, is the result of a fruitful collaboration between Great Basin College and the University of Nevada, Reno’s Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, formerly the Mackay School of Mines.
Housing News
Rising home prices lock out more than a quarter of Nevada workforce
Rising home prices lock out more than a quarter of Nevada workforce. Specifically, home prices in Nevada’s two most populous cities broke records in May, reaching a median price of $482,000 in Las Vegas (up 25 percent from last year) and $615,000 in the Reno-Sparks area (up 23 percent from last year) for single-family homes.
According to the UNLV report, none of the ten most common occupations in the area (about 24 percent of the population in the Reno-Sparks area and nearly 25 percent in the Las Vegas area) earn an annual salary that would support mortgage payments on a median-valued home assuming an individual secured the mortgage with either a 10 percent or 3 percent down payment.
Infrastructure News
Elon Musk’s Boring Company to expand underground tunnels in Las Vegas
As part of its effort to construct a transportation system hitting the most popular stops in Las Vegas, Elon Musk’s The Boring Company received approval this week to expand its underground tunnels downtown.
Musk’s vision for the “Vegas Loop” includes plans to connect the city’s Strip, Harry Reid International Airport, Allegiant Stadium, downtown Las Vegas and eventually Los Angeles.
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.