Here are some quick looks at races, measures on the Clark County ballot
The 2016 election will be one for the ages.
Voters are picking a new president, choosing between the first female nominee of a major party and a billionaire businessman who surprised the ruling establishment class by gaining the Republican nod outside the traditional path of elected service.
In Nevada’s down-ballot races, other key choices are at stake. Voters will elect a successor to U.S. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and send at least one new member to Congress.
In the Nevada Legislature, it’s an unpredictable dynamic. Republicans swept the state’s races in 2014, gaining control of the Assembly and state Senate. That could well change. This time they’re facing a formidable Democratic get-out-the-vote machine energized by the presidential race and other down-ballot races.
Voters also will weigh in on major issues, with ballot questions that would legalize recreational marijuana and expand background checks for firearm sales and transfers.
Here are quick looks on the big races and ballot questions:
PRESIDENT
Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton have made their stamp on Nevada. Both have campaigned throughout the battleground state, fighting for its six electoral votes. Trump has cast himself as an agent who would shake up the ruling political establishment and upend an entrenched bureaucracy. Clinton and her surrogates have said she’s the best prepared candidate for the office, citing her record as a former U.S. senator and former secretary of state. Also on the ballot: Libertarian Gary Johnson, a former GOP governor in New Mexico, has tried to reach out to voters disenchanted with the establishment.
U.S. SENATE
Control of the Senate could depend on what happens in Nevada. Democrats are aiming to wrest control from the GOP, which believes it has a shot at gaining Reid’s seat. U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., is running against Democratic candidate Catherine Cortez Masto, a former Nevada attorney general. Heck, a medical doctor and brigadier general in the Army Reserve, has stressed his practical life experience outside politics, which includes owning a business and working in an emergency room. Cortez Masto has touted her ability to work with both parties, including her work on state legislation in Carson City with tougher penalties for pimps to fight sex trafficking. This high-profile race has attracted millions of dollars in outside spending on both sides.
3RD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Heck’s entry into the Senate race created an open seat in the 3rd Congressional District, which stretches from the southern edge of the Las Vegas metropolitan area and extends south through Clark County. Danny Tarkanian, a Republican, is facing Jacky Rosen, a Democratic. Tarkanian is a son of late, iconic UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, and Rosen is a former president of a Henderson synagogue who worked as a computer programmer and software developer. Neither has held elected office. For Tarkanian, a successful outcome would end a string of defeats. He has run unsuccessfully for state Senate in 2004, secretary of state in 2006, U.S. Senate in 2010 and the 4th Congressional District in 2012.
4TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Democrats are aiming to reclaim the 4th District. U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy, R-Nev., is running for a second two-year term and faces state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, a Democrat with allies that include Reid and the Culinary Union. Hardy’s supporters include Las Vegas Urban League President Kevin Hooks and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis. In 2014, voters in the district, which includes North Las Vegas and rural areas, picked Hardy and rejected Democratic incumbent Steven Horsford, surprising Democrats because of the party’s voter registration edge in the district.
1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., is running for re-election against Republican candidate Mary Perry, an attorney, in the heavily Democratic district in urban Las Vegas. Unlike the 3rd and 4th districts, the race has drawn little attention and isn’t widely viewed as a seat that could flip to the Republican side.
STATE ASSEMBLY
Republicans are battling to retain the majority they won in the “red wave” of 2014, when several Democratic incumbents were defeated. Republicans gained a 25-17 advantage, the first majority in 30 years. Democrats expect to win back many of those GOP seats and put the Republican majority back into the minority. Several seats now held by the GOP are open, and many have large Democratic voter registration advantages. But Republican Assembly leaders are working in concert to protect their majority while recognizing it could end up at only 22 seats instead of 25.
STATE SENATE
Republicans have an 11-10 advantage in the state Senate. The most important race is an open seat in District 6 in Las Vegas where Republican Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman is facing newcomer Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro. Democrats are making a strong push to flip the GOP-controlled seat. They also are pushing hard to take the open Reno seat in District 15. Democrat Devon Reese is campaigning hard against Republican Heidi Gansert. A Libertarian candidate, David Colborne, also is on the ballot. The races will determine which party controls the Senate for the 2017 legislative session. Democrats need to hold their seats and take one of the two to regain the majority they lost in 2014. If Republicans retain control, they can continue to push their agenda with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, from school choice to tort reform. For Democrats, control of even just one house would give them a veto over legislation they oppose.
BALLOT MEASURES
Voters also will cast ballots on Question 1, which would require background checks on most private gun sales and transfers. Recreational marijuana is on the ballot, too. Question 2 would legalize the use of recreational marijuana by adults age 21 and over.
Some ballot measures aren’t a done deal even if they pass.
Question 3 would open energy markets to competition, making it easier for consumers to shop for power in open retail electricity market without a monopoly. Question 4 would exempt medical equipment purchases from the sales tax. Both measures would have to win voter support a second time in 2018 before they could take effect.
FUEL TAX MEASURE
A Clark County ballot measure would raise the fuel tax for road projects, with the increase tied to the producer price index, which measures road construction costs. The county would continue indexing the fuel tax through Dec. 31, 2026, providing an estimated 36.32-cent increase per gallon of fuel by the end of 2026 — boosting the fuel tax to almost $1 a gallon — and raising an estimated $3 billion for road projects over the next decade.
OTHER RACES
The Clark County School Board has two seats up for election. On the Clark County Commission, four seats are on the ballot, all with Democratic incumbents facing Republican challengers.
Other races include four Las Vegas Justice Court seats, one Henderson Justice Court seat, two Clark County District Court seats, three seats on the state’s Board of Education and one on the state Board of Regents.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter. Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.
