Certain candidates’ nicknames don’t fly on Nevada’s ballots—and here’s why

Brian Kersey, AP

Hair apparent: Republican Daniel R. Vovak lost a fight in 2006 to get his nickname (The Wig Man) on the ballot in Maryland.

By Rick Lax

Wednesday, March 21, 2012 | 3:46 p.m.

Bad news, Nancy Price. If you want to run for U.S. Senate in the state of Nevada, you’ve got to do it without a nickname. Same goes for you, Ed Hamilton. Democrat Nancy “Occupy” Price and Republican Ed “WarNoMo” Hamilton were told by Secretary of State Ross Miller that they couldn’t use their politically charged nicknames on the 2012 ballot. This came as a shock to Hamilton, who, in 2010, ran for Senate with the sobriquet “Mr. Clean.” (Back then he was a Democrat.) The nickname restriction traces back to a 1992 U.S. Senate candidate who ran as “God Almighty”… and lost. So did Laughlin politician Dave “Batman” Thompson. Most nicknames are fine. “Mitt,” for instance, is actually Willard Romney’s middle name. And Representative Berkley can run as Shelley, as opposed to her slightly more formal given name, Rochelle. What’s not okay, according to NRS 293.2565, are nicknames that indicate political, fiscal or religious viewpoints. So, Harry “Quiet Riot” Reid is probably acceptable, and Carolyn “Tame By Comparison” Goodman probably is okay, too. Steve “Spotlight Hoggin’” Sisolak would work, and so would Chris “Should’ve Been Mayor” Giunchigliani. But not Brian “I’m Done Cutting Education” Sandoval. That’s crossing the line.