Democrats look to keep Legislature

Democrats looked poised to keep control of both chambers of the Nevada Legislature, based on early election results early Wednesday morning. But they were trailing in some of the six most competitive seats in the Legislature.

Republicans would need to flip two Democrat-held Senate seats to take control of the upper chamber and six seats in the Assembly to take control there.

But with the newly redrawn districts this cycle that followed last year’s post-Census redistricting, there are just a handful of races that are truly competitive — two in the Senate, and five in the Assembly— based on the political party registration.

Senate

In Senate District 8, Republican Joey Paulos’ lead over Democratic incumbent state Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop shrunk to less than 1 percentage point, with a margin of 50.4 percent to Dondero Loop’s 49.6 percent. In Senate District 8, Democrats hold a narrow 2.9-percentage-point registration margin.

Democrat Julie Pazina holds a 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent lead over Republican Cherlyn Arrington in the race for Senate District 12. There is no incumbent in the race, as Republican state Sen. Joe Hardy, who was term-limited, ran successfully for mayor of Boulder City in the June primary. The district was one that saw significant changes during redistricting, and Democrats now hold a 5.7-percentage-point registration advantage.

Assembly

Incumbent Democrat Michelle Gorelow was slightly trailing Republican challenger Tiffany Jones in Assembly District 35, where Jones had 48.9 percent to Gorelow’s 47.6 percent. Libertarian Mindy Robinson, who ran unsuccessfully in the 2020 Republican primary for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, had 3.6 percent.

Assembly District 35 is one of the tightest in terms of voter registration, with Democrats holding a slim 3.3 percentage point margin. Gorelow won the seat in 2020 by just more than 2,200 votes, or about 4.8 percentage points.

In Assembly District 37, where Democrats also hold a 3.3 percentage point margin, former Democratic Assemblywoman Shea Backus is leading Republican Jacob Deaville 49.6 percent to 48.9 percent, while Libertarian Marc Tedoff holds 1.5 percent. Backus previously held the seat from 2018 to 2020.

In Reno-based Assembly District 25, Democrat Selena La Rue Hatch is leading Republican Sam Kumar 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent. The seat is currently held by Republican Assemblywoman Jill Tolles, who chose not to run for re-election this year.

In Assembly District 12, Republican Flemming Larsen is leading Democrat Max Carter II 50.3 percent to 49.7 percent, a lead of 123 total votes. Democrat Susie Martinez, who has represented the district since she was first elected in 2018, chose not to run for re-election.

And in Assembly District 21, incumbent Democrat Elaine Marzola is leading Republican Jon Petrick 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent. Marzola was first elected in 2020, where she defeated Arrington by 1,200 votes.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on Twitter. Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.