Cohen draws 2 GOP challengers in Assembly District 29

Two Republican candidates are vying for the party’s nomination for Assembly District 29.

The winner of the Republican primary will face off against incumbent Democrat Lesley Cohen. Democrats hold a slight registration advantage over Republicans in the Henderson district, with 15,892 Democrats compared to 13,845 Republicans. There are 9,665 registered nonpartisans.

Steven Delisle

Steven Delisle, a dentist, said he’s been considering a run for political office for five years before finally jumping into the fray this election cycle. He said he’s running because he wants to ensure that Nevada stays a low-tax, business-friendly environment.

Delisle said he “essentially left” his dental practice three years ago to pursue a law degree at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles so that he could have a better understanding of the lawmaking process.

“I wanted to learn the Constitution, how the government works, the proper role of the federal government and have a better understanding of individual rights,” Delisle said.

He said he wants to work on health care protections for Nevadans with private health insurance, and said he opposes Medicare for All because he believes that having a choice in health care is a fundamental right.

On dealing with the financial burden created by COVID-19, Delisle said he thinks the Legislature should figure out a way to “unleash the private sector to get back to where we were as fast as we possibly can.”

“We need to get people back to work,” Delisle said. “Cutting regulations, not increasing taxation on small businesses — that would be my mechanism to fix this economic crisis that we’re in.”

Troy Archer

Troy Archer said he is running because he’s thinks that taxes and the size of government in Nevada are both growing.

Archer, who said he’s worked in the customer service industry for 27 years, said that if elected, he’d push for a bill to create an office of inspector general, which would act as a watchdog of state and local offices.

Past attempts to create such an office in Nevada, which have come from Democrats and Republicans, have failed. But Archer said that office would help the state manage its money better and “root out our wasteful spending.”

He also believes that such an office would help the state navigate the coming budget cuts better.

“The reality is we face obvious budget shortfalls, and it’s important that we’re wise with what we have,” Archer said.

Archer wants to bring back and fund Education Savings Accounts, a voucher-like school choice program that never received funding in Nevada. The remnants of that program were taken out of state law by Democrats last session.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.