Two first-time candidates vie for open Assembly District 8 seat

Two candidates are squaring off in the Assembly District 8 race to fill the vacant seat left by Democrat and former Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, who was appointed to be Nevada’s U.S. attorney and confirmed in April.

Jenann Logan beat out two fellow Republican challengers in the June primary to get on the ballot in November.

While COVID-19 mandates have been loosened in recent months, Logan is pushing for legislation that stops the state government from reenacting mask or vaccine mandates. In her work as a flight attendant, Logan said earlier this year she was frustrated with the position her “medical choices” put her in at her job.

“It’s not over. They can at any time come back and say we are enforcing this once again,” Logan said.

Her campaign website links to a draft of the Medical Freedom Act, which is being promoted by candidates in different states and was put together by the 501(c)4 group Move Freely America.

The act has several sections including, “unwanted medical procedures,” “free speech protection,” and “limits to government powers.”

“I am literally the instrument that’s taking it to the state of Nevada,” Logan said.

Logan also would advocate for school choice and voter identification if elected.

Duy Nguyen

A first-time candidate, Democrat Nguyen has been a Clark County planning commissioner since being appointed in 2019. He moved to the United States from Vietnam when he was 11 years old and has lived in Las Vegas since 2004.

“We need new perspectives and I think this a good time for new perspectives,” Nguyen said. “As a state we have a lot of things to celebrate for but one of the things that we’re still missing at the table are more voices.”

Nguyen wants to focus on investing in small businesses and local industry, making affordable and accessible health care the standard and expanding language access and cultural competency in laws.

“Nevada is a very diverse state and it’s one of the fastest growing Asian Pacific Islander, native Hawaiian population in the country and we definitely need to ensure that we don’t leave anyone behind,” Nguyen said.

He said his experience in the corporate world and being a planning commissioner combined with running the Asian Community Development Council and One APIA Nevada nonprofits will give him a unique perspective to bring to the Assembly.

Nguyen lamented the eroding of bipartisanship in politics that has been heightened during the pandemic.

“We’ve got to bring back the common ground and collaborate and know that we have a lot more in common than we are different … I want to bring that back to Carson City,” Nguyen said. “That for us we’re all Nevadans when we’re up there.”

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.

An earlier version of this story misidentified the group Move Freely America. It is a 501(c)4 organization.