Ex-state treasurer Dan Schwartz announces bid for lieutenant governor

A former Republican Nevada state treasurer wasted no time Tuesday announcing his candidacy for lieutenant governor following news that the incumbent officeholder is planning to resign to take a position in the Biden administration.

Dan Schwartz announced his candidacy in an email Tuesday morning as word spread that Lt. Gov. Kate Marshall, a Democrat elected to the post in 2018, will be stepping down to join the Biden administration as a liaison to governors.

Schwartz, 71, was elected treasurer in 2014 and served one term. In 2018, he ran a distant second to then-Attorney General Adam Laxalt in a crowded Republican primary for governor. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 2020, losing in the Republican primary.

As treasurer, he tangled with fellow Republicans in the Legislature and the governor’s office, quarreling over proposed taxes and education funding.

In his announcement Tuesday, he highlighted his term as treasurer and said he would run on “his background as a successful businessman and state official,” emphasizing the “3 E’s: Education, Economy and Election Integrity.”

“We’re at a time for our state to elect leaders who have stood up to both parties and presented real solutions,” Schwartz said. “This campaign will be about the future and how we secure election integrity, build a better economy and create schools that educate our children instead of squandering billions in a race to the bottom.”

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.