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Nevada State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for the Nevada State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on June 10, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was March 14, 2014.
The battle for the Nevada State Senate hinged on one seat. That seat was District 9, in a race that saw Becky Harris (R) defeat incumbent Justin Jones (D). Jones won it by only 301 votes in 2012 after Elizabeth Halseth (R) resigned halfway through her term.[1][2]
There were only 21 seats in the Senate, with the Democratic Party losing its slight majority to the Republican Party.
Republicans hoped that Jones' vote in favor of requiring background checks for private gun sales would sway voters to pick Harris.[3]
Harris said she did not expect to receive national attention, and decided to run because people encouraged her to do so. She said:
| “ | I had no idea when I got into this race that it would be the kind of race where national politicians are looking at what happens in the Nevada State Legislature.[4] | ” |
| —Becky Harris[1] | ||
Another key race was the one for District 8, which Republicans needed to keep in order to win a majority. Incumbent Barbara Cegavske (R), who was termed out, won the election for Nevada Secretary of State. The district was seen as a Democratic lean, but Assemblywoman Marilyn Dondero Loop (D) was defeated by Patricia Farley (R).[5]
The Nevada State Senate was one of 20 state legislative chambers noted by Ballotpedia staff as being a battleground chamber. The Nevada Senate had a difference in partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans of one seat, which amounted to 9 percent of the seats up for election in 2014. Two major party candidates ran for seven, or about 64 percent, of the 11 seats up for election. In 2012, a total of five districts were competitive, with a margin of victory was 5 percent or less.
Following the general election, the Republican Party wrested majority control of the Nevada State Senate from the Democratic Party. The Democrats held 11 seats heading into the general election, but emerged with only 10. The Republicans saw the reverse occur, increasing their seats from 10 to 11.
Incumbents retiring
One incumbent, Barbara Cegavske (R) in District 8, did not seek re-election due to term limits and won the election for Nevada Secretary of State.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state senates
Heading into the November 4 election, the Democratic Party held the majority in the Nevada State Senate but lost it in a reversal to the Republican Party:
| Nevada State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 11 | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 10 | 11 | |
| Total | 21 | 21 | |
Qualifications
To be eligible to serve in the Nevada State Senate, a candidate must be:[6]
- 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
Competitiveness
Candidates unopposed by a major party
In four (36.36%) of the 11 senate seats up for election, there was only one major party candidate running for election. Two Democrats and two Republicans were guaranteed election in November barring unforeseen circumstances.
Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in seven (63.63%) of the 11 districts up for election. One of those seats, District 9, held a competitive election in 2012 with a margin of victory ranging from zero to five percent. Incumbent Justin Jones (D) was defeated by Becky Harris (R), the winner of a four-way primary. Jones won by a margin of victory of one point in 2012.
Primary challenges
Two incumbents faced primary competition on June 10. One incumbent did not seek re-election in 2014 and another eight incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition. The state senators that faced primary competition included:
- District 16: Incumbent Ben Kieckhefer defeated Gary Schmidt in the Republican primary.
- District 20: Incumbent Michael Roberson defeated Republican primary challenger Carl Bunce.
Context
A Ballotpedia analysis of partisan balance between 1992 and 2013 shows that Democrats held the Senate for the final six years while Republicans had the majority for the first 16 years.[7]
The Nevada State Senate districts targeted by Democrats and Republicans were District 8, District 9 and District 20. In this scenario, if the GOP won the open seat in District 8, defeated Democratic incumbent Justin Jones in District 9 and maintained control of District 20, Republicans would regain control of the chamber, 11 seats to 10.[5] The Republican Legislative Campaign Committee (RLCC) announced in July that it would be targeting both the Nevada State Senate and Nevada State Assembly. The organization put Nevada on its list of "Sweet 16 targets" to flip legislative control to Republican. The RLCC did not specify how much money would be spent in Nevada or elsewhere, but the amount was expected to be substantial.[8]
Republicans were ultimately successful, not only capturing the Senate but pulling off a near-exact reversal of power in the Assembly.
Races to Watch
- District 8: Democrats had the opportunity to win District 8, where incumbent Barbara Cegavske (R) was termed out and running for Nevada Secretary of State. Assemblywoman Marilyn Dondero Loop (D) was defeated by Patricia Farley (R) in the general election. Farley and Dondero Loop both defeated primary challengers on June 10.[5] Farley followed other Republican candidates and did not meet her opponent in a debate.[9] The race was highly competitive since there were over 11,824 nonpartisan voters registered in the district and Republicans only held a party registration advantage of 192. In January, Democrats had a more than 300-voter registration edge in the district.[10][9][11] Campaign finance reports in late October showed that Dondero Loop had raised $337,000 and spent $247,000 in her race, compared to Farley who had raised $284,000 and spent $270,000.[10]
- District 9: Incumbent Justin Jones (D) ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, but was defeated by attorney Becky Harris (R) in the general election. Jones won election in 2012 by only 301 votes. In 2013, Jones angered many gun-rights conservatives during his first year in office, when he pushed for gun control legislation. The Senate Republican caucus endorsed Harris, who defeated Ron Quilang, Vick Gill and David Schoen in the June 10 Republican primary.[5][12] Harris declared that she would not be participating in a debate with Jones. The race was highly competitive since there were over 12,500 nonpartisan voters registered in the district, but Democrats held a party registration advantage of about 3,400.[11] Campaign reports filed in October showed that Jones raised almost $580,000 and spent $600,000. In comparison, Harris only raised $300,000 and spent $324,000.[10]
- District 20: Incumbent Michael Roberson (R) defeated Teresa Lowry (D) in the general election.[8] In 2010, Roberson defeated his opponent by over 2,500 votes. Roberson canceled a scheduled TV debate with Lowry and refused to schedule others because "very few voters watch these debates."[13] Republicans had a narrow registration edge, with 23,777 Republicans, 23,247 Democrats and 12,346 nonpartisans registered in the district. According to campaign finance reports filed in October, Roberson raised $419,000 and spent $447,000, while Lowry only raised $234,000 and spent $190,000.[10]
List of candidates
District 2
June 10 Democratic primary:
- Mo Denis
- Incumbent Denis first assumed office in 2011.
- Mo Denis
June 10 Republican primary:
- No candidates filed.
June 10 Independent American primary:
November 4 General election candidates:
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
 |
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- Mo Denis: 5,683
- Louis Baker: 1,758
District 8
Note: Incumbent Barbara Cegavske (R), who did not seek re-election due to term limits, won the election for Secretary of State.
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- Garrett Leduff: 582
- Marilyn Dondero Loop: 2,844
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Lisa Myers: 543
- Patricia Farley: 2,814
- Clayton Hurst: 2,054
- June 10 Independent American primary:
November 4 General election candidates:
- Marilyn Dondero Loop: 11,092
- Patricia Farley: 16,205
- Jon Kamerath: 1,119
District 9
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- Justin Jones - Incumbent Justin Jones first assumed office in 2013.
- Justin Jones
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Ron Quilang: 153
- Vick Gill: 1,452
- Becky Harris: 1,830
- David Schoen: 206
November 4 General election candidates:
- Justin Jones: 10,116
- Becky Harris: 12,475
District 10
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- Ruben Kihuen - Incumbent Kihuen first assumed office in 2011.
- Ruben Kihuen
- June 10 Republican primary:
- No candidates filed.
June 10 Libertarian primary:
November 4 General election candidates:
- Ruben Kihuen: 8,143
- Ed Uehling: 4,409
District 12
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- No candidates filed.
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Joseph Hardy - Incumbent Hardy first assumed office in 2011.
- Joseph Hardy
November 4 General election candidates:
- Joseph Hardy: 28,657
District 13
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- Debbie Smith - Incumbent Smith first assumed office in 2013.
- Debbie Smith
- June 10 Republican primary:
- June 10 Independent American primary:
Note: Diana Leung Squillante withdrew before the primary.
November 4 General election candidates:
- Debbie Smith: 12,943
- Thomas Koziol: 8,432
District 14
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- K.C. Harrison: 1,751
- Joe Hunt: 2,303
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Don Gustavson - Incumbent Gustavson first assumed office in 2013.
- Don Gustavson
November 4 General election candidates:
- Joe Hunt: 10,690
- Don Gustavson: 24,994
District 16
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Ben Kieckhefer: 8,144 - Incumbent Kieckhefer first assumed office in 2011.
- Gary Schmidt: 4,060
- Ben Kieckhefer: 8,144
- June 10 Independent American primary:
November 4 General election candidates:
- Michael Kelley: 12,021
- Ben Kieckhefer: 27,225
- John Everhart: 2,691
District 17
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- No candidates filed.
- June 10 Republican primary:
- James Settelmeyer - Incumbent Settlemeyer first assumed office in 2011.
- James Settelmeyer
November 4 General election candidates:
- James Settelmeyer: 35,979
District 20
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- June 10 Republican primary:
- Michael Roberson: 3,009 - Incumbent Roberson first assumed office in 2011.
- Carl Bunce: 2,131
- Michael Roberson: 3,009
November 4 General election candidates:
- Teresa Lowry: 10,959
- Michael Roberson: 16,715
District 21
- June 10 Democratic primary:
- Mark Manendo - Incumbent Manendo first assumed office in 2011.
- Mark Manendo
- June 10 Republican primary:
November 4 General election candidates:
- Mark Manendo: 9,597
- Ron McGinnis: 8,328
See also
External links
- Nevada Secretary of State, "Nevada General Election 2014 - Nevada State Senate"
- Nevada Secretary of State, "2014 Filed Candidates"
- Clark County, 2014 candidate list
- Washoe County, 2014 candidate list
- Nevada Secretary of State, 2014 primary election results
- Clark County, 2014 general election candidates
- Nevada Secretary of State, "Candidates Certified to Appear on General Election Ballot"
- Washoe County, 2014 general election candidates
- Nevada Secretary of State, unofficial general election results
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New York Times, "Midterms give parties chance for sweeping control of states," August 10, 2014
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Senator says education is priority for Nevada Legislature," September 18, 2014
- ↑ Nevada Appeal, "Nevada midterm elections: 5 things that you need to know," August 31, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Nevada Senate leader says GOP has chance to regain control of upper house," April 9, 2014
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "Election Information Guide 2013-2014," accessed March 6, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedDubin - ↑ 8.0 8.1 Las Vegas Review-Journal, "GOP groups aim at Nevada, other legislatures," July 20, 2014
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Las Vegas Weekly, "An imaginary Nevada State Senate debate (because the GOP refused to do it)," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Las Vegas Review-Journal, "2 GOP Senate candidates outraised, still could win," October 22, 2014
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Las Vegas Review-Journal, "GOP candidates Farley, Harris are spineless pawns," accessed October 22, 2014
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "GOP poised to control more state legislatures," May 4, 2014
- ↑ Las Vegas Review-Journal, "Give Michael Roberson credit for being crafty, at least," accessed October 22, 2014
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