Nevada State Senate elections, 2012
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Nevada's 2012 elections U.S. Senate • U.S. House • State Senate • State Assembly • State ballot measures • Candidate ballot access |
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Elections for the office of Nevada State Senate were held in Nevada on November 6, 2012. A total of 12 seats were up for election.
The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was March 16, 2012. The primary Election Day was June 12, 2012.
Incumbents retiring
| Name | Party | Current office |
|---|---|---|
| Allison Copening |  Democratic |
Clark 6 |
| Dean Rhoads |  Republican |
Northern Nevada |
| Michael Schneider (Nevada) | Democratic |
Clark 11 |
| Mike McGinness | Republican |
Central Nevada |
| Shirley Breeden | Democratic |
Clark 5 |
| Steven Horsford | Democratic |
Clark 4 |
| Valerie Wiener | Democratic |
Clark 3 |
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 6 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Nevada State Senate:
| Nevada State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 5, 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 10 | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 9 | 10 | |
| Vacancy | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 21 | 21 | |
Term limits
Nevada voters approved Question 9A in 1996. Question 9A was a second vote on a term limits amendment first approved in 1994. Alone among the states with ballot initiatives, Nevada voters must approve a proposed constitutional amendment twice before it goes into the Nevada Constitution. The 1994 and 1996 votes cumulatively led to Paragraph 2 of Section 4 of Article 4 of the Nevada Constitution, which says, "No person may be elected or appointed as a Senator who has served in that Office, or at the expiration of his current term if he is so serving will have served, 12 years or more, from any district of this State."
Altogether, there are 21 Nevada State Senators. In 2012, 4 of them who were current members, or 19% of the total senate seats, were ineligible to run for the senate again in November. Of them, 2 were Democratic state senators and 2 were Republican state senators.
In addition to the 4 state senators who left office because of term limits, 1 state representative was also termed-out.
The 4 current members of the state senate who were ineligible to run in November were:
Democrats (2):
Republicans (2):
Campaign contributions
This chart shows how many candidates ran for state senate in Nevada in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in state senate races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests. All figures come from Follow The Money.[1]
| Year | Number of candidates | Total contributions |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 44 | $4,320,019 |
| 2008 | 32 | $4,595,155 |
| 2006 | 23 | $4,617,882 |
| 2004 | 39 | $4,452,213 |
| 2002 | 25 | $2,878,156 |
In 2010, the candidates for state senate raised a total of $4,320,019 in campaign contributions. The top 10 donors were:[2]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Senate Republican Leadership Conference | $75,000 |
| Senate Republican Leaders Fund | $65,000 |
| Nevada Association of Realtors | $63,500 |
| Boyd Gaming | $53,000 |
| Las Vegas Sands Corp | $52,500 |
| R & S Investment Properties | $50,500 |
| Nevada State Education Association | $47,500 |
| South Point Hotel & Casino | $47,500 |
| Move Nevada Forward PAC | $46,500 |
| Sunrise Healthcare System | $46,250 |
Impact of redistricting
The Democratic-controlled Assembly passed two maps that were vetoed by Gov. Brian Sandoval (R). The legislature was out of session until 2013, so a three-member court-appointed special masters panel was responsible for redistricting. The panel issued plans in October, which the trial court modified and finalized in the same month.[3]
The new map merged the former Central Nevada seat with Washoe-2 and Rural Nevada and created a new Clark County district in the Las Vegas area. The shift represented the movement of the state population from rural locations toward more urban locations.[4]
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Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Nevada State Senate, a candidate must be:[5]
- A U.S. citizen at the time of filing
- 21 years old at the filing deadline time
- A one-year resident of Nevada preceding the election
- A resident for 30 days of the senate district from which elected at the filing deadline time
- A qualified election. A qualified voter is someone who is:
- * A U.S. citizen
- * A resident of Nevada for at least 6 months prior to the next election, and 30 days in the district or county
- * At least 18 years old by the next election
List of candidates
District 1
June 12 Democratic primary:
- John Jay Lee: 1,318 - Incumbent Lee first assumed office in 2004.
- Patricia Spearman: 2,244
June 12 GOP primary:
- No candidates filed.
June 12 Independent American primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Patricia Spearman: 29,026
- Gregory Hughes: 13,221
District 3
Note: Incumbent Democrat Valerie Wiener was ineligible to run due to term limits.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Richard Segerblom: 21,745
- Ed Gobel: 12,032
District 4
Note: Incumbent Democrat Steven Horsford did not seek re-election.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- Kelvin Atkinson: 2,646
- Katherine Duncan: 983
- David Wallace: 266
- Kelvin Atkinson: 2,646
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Kelvin Atkinson: 27,422
- Linda West Myers: 6,946
District 5
Note: Incumbent Democrat Shirley Breeden did not seek re-election.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- June 12 GOP primary:
- Steve Kirk: 3,090
- Annette Teijeiro: 1,247
- Steve Kirk: 3,090
November 6 General election candidates:
- Joyce Woodhouse: 26,520
- Steve Kirk: 24,524
District 6
Note: Incumbent Democrat Allison Copening did not seek re-election.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- Thomas Welsh: 2,009
- Benny Yerushalmi: 2,510
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Benny Yerushalmi: 26,598
- Mark Hutchison: 27,499
District 7 (A)
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- David Parks - Incumbent Parks first assumed office in 2008.
- David Parks
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- David Parks: 25,567
- Trish Marsh: 14,285
District 9
Note: Clark 9 was up for election in 2012 to fill the vacancy of Elizabeth Halseth. The winner was elected to a two-year term.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- Frederick L. Conquest: 340
- Justin C. Jones: 1,605
- June 12 GOP primary:
- Brent Jones: 1,386
- Mari Nakashima St. Martin: 1,641
November 6 General election candidates:
- Justin C. Jones: 21,849
- Mari Nakashima St. Martin: 21,548
District 11
Note: Incumbent Democrat Michael Schneider (Nevada) was ineligible to run due to term limits.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- Aaron D. Ford: 1,741
- Harry Mortenson: 802
- Aaron D. Ford: 1,741
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Aaron D. Ford: 22,188
- John Drake: 13,453
District 13
Note: Washoe 1 was up for election in 2012 to fill the vacancy left by Sheila Leslie. Leslie resigned in February 2012 in order to run for election to Senate District 15. The winner was elected to a two-year term.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- June 12 GOP primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Debbie Smith: 25,975
- Kathy Martin: 14,151
District 15
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- June 12 GOP primary:
- Greg Brower - Incumbent Brower first assumed office in 2011.
- Greg Brower
November 6 General election candidates:
- Sheila Leslie: 29,086
- Greg Brower: 29,352
District 18
Note: District 18 was newly formed from the 2012 redistricting process.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- Kelli Ross: 2,016
- Donna Schlemmer: 1,409
- Kelli Ross: 2,016
- June 12 GOP primary:
- Scott Hammond: 2,752
- Richard McArthur: 2,027
- Conrad Vergara: 144
- Scott Hammond: 2,752
November 6 General election candidates:
- Kelli Ross: 25,893
- Scott Hammond: 27,364
District 19
Note: Incumbent Republican Dean Rhoads was ineligible to run due to term limits.
- June 12 Democratic primary:
- June 12 GOP primary:
- June 12 Independent American primary:
November 6 General election candidates:
- Harley Z. Kulkin: 10,427
- Pete Goicoechea: 25,287
- Janine Hansen: 8,675
External links
- Nevada Secretary of State - Official 2012 Primary Results (dead link)
- Nevada Secretary of State - 2012 Candidates
- Clark County - 2012 Candidates
- Washoe County - 2012 Candidates
See also
Footnotes
