The Sun offers its choices for state legislative races

Monday, Oct. 5, 2020 | 2 a.m.

Editor’s note: Candidates receiving the Sun’s endorsements are listed in bold type; * denotes incumbent.

Senate District 4

Esper M. Hickman (Republican)

√ Dina Neal (Democrat)

Neal won her first term in the Legislature in 2010, as an assemblywoman, and has been popular with voters ever since in winning reelection in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. Now she’s seeking the seat previously held by state Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson, who resigned in 2019 amid a corruption scandal. Marcia Washington, who was appointed to the seat, opted not to seek election, opening the door for Neal. Neal, with her experience in the Assembly and her strong support from voters, is perfectly suited to move over to the Senate.

Senate District 5

Carrie Ann Buck (R)

Tim Hagan (Libertarian)

√ Kristee Watson (D)

Watson is a newcomer with experience in private business, education advocacy and activism on gun violence. Buck disgraced herself by becoming involved in a baseless recall attempt of former state Sen. Joyce Woodhouse after losing to Woodhouse in 2016. Watson is the far better choice here.

Senate District 6

April Becker — R

√ Nicole Cannizzaro (I) — D

Cannizzaro won her first term in 2016, when she ground out a tough race against Victoria Seaman, who at that time was an assemblywoman seeking to make the jump to the Senate and now is a Las Vegas city councilwoman. Cannizzaro then unexpectedly took on the challenge of serving as Senate leader — the first woman to hold that position in state history — in 2019 after former Sen. Kelvin Atkinson resigned amid a corruption scandal. Cannizzaro handled herself with aplomb throughout and has earned another term.

Senate District 11

Joshua Dowden (R)

√ Dallas Harris* (D)

Harris was appointed to fill former state Senate Majority Leader Aaron Ford’s seat after Ford was elected attorney general in 2018. Harris served capably and honorably during the 2019 session and in this year’s special sessions, and deserves a full term.

Senate District 18

√ Liz Becker (D)

Scott T. Hammond* (R)

The Sun endorsed Becker in the primary, and we’ll endorse her again in the general election over Hammond, who has been a rubber-stamp vote for the extremist right.

Senate District 19

√ Pete Goicoechea* (R)

Tiffany “Gholson” Seeback (Independent American Party)

The Sun endorsed Goicoechea in 2016, and we’ll do it again this year based mostly on his institutional knowledge and experience in the Legislature. He’s a fixture at the Statehouse, having first been elected to Legislature in 2002 as an assemblyman. With stable leadership at a premium now amid the chaos of the coronavirus, political polarization, etc., Goicoechea is the type of anchor Nevada needs.

Assembly District 2

Heidi Kasama (R)

√ Radhika “RPK” Kunnel (D)

Garrett LeDuff (no affiliation)

Kunnel emerged from a strong field of Democratic candidates in the primary, and voters made a wise choice. As a UNLV law school graduate who holds a Ph.D. in cancer biology and was an associate professor of biochemistry at Tulane University, she would serve Nevadans well at a time when science is under attack. She also boasts a highly impressive collection of endorsements from the likes of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and former Sen. Richard Bryan. Full disclosure: The Sun didn’t endorse Kunnel in the primary, but rather endorsed a candidate we’d also recommended in 2018. But given Kunnel’s strength as a candidate and the voice of the voters, we strongly recommend her in the general election.

Assembly District 4

Richard McArthur (R)

√ Connie Munk* (D)

In a rematch of the 2018 election in this district, Munk remains the stronger candidate. Voters made the right choice two years ago, and now Munk is an even better pick with two years of legislative experience under her belt.

Assembly District 5

√ Brittney Miller* (D)

Mack Miller (R)

Miller obviously has impressed voters in her district, winning election in 2016 and then being re-elected by a comfortable margin in 2018. Miller has continued to serve her district well; no need to make a change here.

Assembly District 6

Katie Duncan (R)

√ Shondra Summers-Armstrong (D)

Summers-Armstrong got our endorsement in the primary, and she remains our choice in a general election race between two very well-suited candidates. A longtime employee of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, Summers-Armstrong brings a strong record of service as a commissioner on the Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority and Southern Nevada Enterprise Community Board and an executive board member of Service Employees International Union. The Sun would be remiss, however, in not identifying Duncan as a worthy candidate. The founding president of the Historic Westside Chamber of Commerce, Duncan has amassed an admirable record of advocacy for her community.

Assembly District 7

√ Cameron “C.H.” Miller (D)

Anthony “Tony” Palmer (R)

Miller is a first-time office seeker, but he’s no rookie to Nevada politics. In fact, he worked with one of the most respected figures in the Legislature — the late Assemblyman Tyrone Thompson -- on Thompson’s rel-election campaigns. He’s a well-suited candidate to fill the District 7 seat.

Assembly District 8

Edward “Eddie” Facey (R)

√ Jason Frierson* (D)

Frierson has provided effective, steady-handed leadership as speaker of the Assembly since 2016. He worked well with both former Republican Gov. Brain Sandoval and current Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak, and with other legislative leaders. Now, with all of the uncertainty that still lies ahead, Nevadans can rely on Frierson’s reasonable, measured way of doing business in Carson City.

Assembly District 9

Barbara Altman (R)

√ Steve Yeager* (D)

Yeager has been an exemplary assemblyman, particularly on the issue of criminal justice reform. As chair of the Advisory Commission on the Administration of Justice, he took on a tough job but gracefully guided a process that led to the passage of significant justice reforms during the 2019 legislative session.

Assembly District 10

Jonathan Friedrich — IA

Chris Hisgen (R)

√ Rochelle Nguyen* (D)

The Sun endorsed Nguyen in the primary, and we strongly stand by our recommendation in the general election. Nguyen, a former public defender who went on to run her own criminal defense firm, served her district well after being appointed to the seat when former Assemblyman Chris Brooks was chosen for a vacant Senate seat.

Assembly District 11

√ Beatrice A. Duran* (D)

Eric Krattiger (R)

As with Nguyen, Duran performed capably after being appointed to fill a vacant seat, this one left behind when Olivia Diaz won election to the Las Vegas City Council in 2019. Duran’s career in the service industry and as a Culinary Union staff member gives her invaluable perspective in serving this central Valley district.

Assembly District 12

John Cardiff Gerhardt (n/a)

Jeremy A. Graves (R)

√ Susan Martinez* (D)

Martinez won this seat handily in 2018, and is the clear choice in the field again. She’s a 30-year employee in the hospitality industry with a record of advocacy for education and employee rights.

Assembly District 14

√ Maggie Carlton* (D)

Robert Wayerski (R)

Carlton, first elected to the Legislature as a senator in 1998, is exactly the type of knowledgeable, steady presence needed in Carson City amid the current turmoil.

Assembly District 15

Stan Vaughan (R)

√ Howard Watts* (D)

Watts won this seat handily in 2018 and is off to a promising start in the Legislature. He’s a hands-down choice for another term.

Assembly District 16

√ Cecelia Gonzalez (D)

Reyna “Alex” Sajdak (R)

Gonzalez won a crowded primary by an impressive margin — more than 26 percentage points over her closest competitor. The voters in this heavily Democratic district have spoken: Gonzalez is by far the strongest candidate.

Assembly District 17

Jack Polcyn (R)

√ Clara “Claire” Thomas (D)

Thomas is a U.S. Air Force veteran and longtime case manager with the Clark County District Attorney’s Office who also has been active in state Democratic Party activities. She is the best choice in this election between two first-time legislative candidates. Notably, she was one of only seven candidates endorsed by the Assembly Democratic Caucus for the primary, a strong show of support for her capabilities.

Assembly District 18

√ Venicia Considine (D)

Heather Ann Florian (R)

Considine received the Sun’s endorsement in the primary — and, like Thomas, was among the seven candidates endorsed by the Assembly Democrats. She battled through a tough primary, defeating Lisa Ortega by fewer than 100 votes, and now enters the general election as the favorite in this predominantly Democratic district. The Sun once again recommends her.

Assembly District 21

Cherlyn Arrington (R)

√ Elaine Marzola (D)

In 2018, voters in this district rejected Republican ideology when they strongly supported Democrat Ozzie Fumo over Arrington. With Fumo giving up the seat to seek a position on the Nevada Supreme Court, Marzola stands as a well-suited successor who shares the voters’ sensibilities in this Democratic-leaning district. The law firm owner brings an interesting perspective to the race as someone who has experienced immigration issues first-hand, having come to the U.S. from Brazil with her family at age 10 and becoming the first in her family to graduate from college.

Assembly District 23

Brent Foutz (D)

Bill Hoge (IA)

√ Glen Leavitt* (R)

The Sun supported Leavitt in his first run for the Legislature in 2018, based on his experience as a Boulder City planning commissioner and as a public affairs analyst for the Regional Transportation Commission. He’s our choice this year, too, after serving his district capably.

Assembly District 28

Natasha Bousley (L)

√ Edgar Flores* (D)

Flores is seeking his fourth term in the Assembly after first being elected to the seat in 2014 while running unopposed. He’s a powerhouse in his district — he also was unopposed in 2018 and got 78% of the vote in 2016, the only year he faced an opponent. If that doesn’t speak to Flores’ ability to serve the voters in his district, nothing does. The Sun strongly endorses him.

Assembly District 29

√ Lesley Elizabeth Cohen* (D)

Steven E. Delisle (R)

Cohen showed her mettle in 2016 when she defeated incumbent Stephen Silberkraus, who had beaten her two years earlier. She beat back Silberkraus again in 2018, a clear indication that voters in this battleground liked what they saw from her during her first term in the Legislature. Now, with two more years of experience on her resume, she’s an even stronger choice.

Assembly District 34

√ Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod* (D)

Jay Thomas Carlson (R)

Bilbray-Axelrod won her first term handily and then did even better in 2018, a clear indication that she’d served voters well in Carson City. She continued to perform capably in her current term, and has earned another two years.

Assembly District 35

Jay Calhoun (R)

√ Michelle Gorelow* (D)

Gorelow was appointed to this seat after former Assemblyman Justin Watkins announced in 2017 that he wouldn’t seek re-election, then won her current term by a comfortable margin in 2018. Her career is in the non-profit sector — first with March of Dimes and then with an organization providing health care to Southern Nevada children who are developmentally delayed or at-risk medically. The Legislature is well served by individuals motivated by a genuine need to help others, and Gorelow has shown that quality through her work.

Assembly District 37

√ Shea Backus* (D)

Andy Matthews (R)

Backus defeated a Republican incumbent in 2018, with voters sending a strong statement against the march of the GOP toward extremism. Now, with Nevada’s economic recovery on the line and with Republicans on full attack mode on civil liberties and democratic values, it’s vital for Nevada not to slide backward. We strongly urge voters to re-elect Backus.

Assembly District 41

Victoria K. DaCosta (IA)

√ Sandra Jauregui* (D)

Erika Smith (R)

Notes: Jauregui has established herself as a strong and visible leader in the Assembly, particularly on gun violence, where she’s drawn on her experience as an Oct. 1 survivor to be a leading voice for gun safety policy. With two effective terms under her belt, she’s earned the Sun’s endorsement for a third time.

Assembly District 42

√ Alexander Assefa* (D)

Liz Delsignore (L)

Sayed “SM” Zaidi (n/a)

Notes: Assefa entered the Assembly quietly in 2018, when he drew no opposition during the general election. But he came with a powerful and uniquely American story, as an immigrant from Ethiopia who arrived in the U.S. penniless and knowing practically no English but went on to earn a college degree and own a small business. He’s a particularly well-suited leader in a diverse region and state with vibrant immigrant communities. We urge voters to re-elect him.

This story has been revised to correct an error regarding Brittney Miller. Miller was first elected to the Assembly in 2016.