State Senate District 6
Two Republicans are squaring off for the nomination for the state Senate District 6 seat, after both were on opposing sides of the Assembly’s vote on a historical $1.5 billion tax increase the Legislature passed in 2015 for public education.
Assemblywoman Victoria Seaman is running in the June 14 primary against Erv Nelson, a former assemblyman who resigned and moved into the state Senate district to qualify for placement on the ballot. Seaman’s Assembly District 34 overlaps with state Senate District 6, so she didn’t have to move.
It’s an open race. Incumbent Republican Sen. Mark Lipparelli is not seeking another term.
Seaman said she would bring business experience to the job, adding she’s not aiming for a political career.
She has been a business owner for 26 years. She was elected to the Assembly in 2014.
Seaman opposed the tax increase, while Nelson supported it.
Nelson didn’t make himself available for an interview.
“It’s going to put a lot of people out of business,” Seaman said, adding that she’s visited concerned owners of businesses, including restaurants, about the commerce tax, which impacts Nevada businesses with more than $4 million in gross revenue. “They don’t know how they’re going to stay in business.”
The tax sets the stage for perpetual lobbying, she said.
Seaman has supported the effort to put a repeal of the commerce tax on the ballot.
An effort to put a commerce tax repeal on the ballot this year failed, as backers conceded they could not get enough signatures by the June 21 deadline.
Seaman worked on legislation to address squatters, which became a problem after the housing crisis.
The winner will face Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro, a Clark County deputy district attorney, in the November general election.
The district has 23, 431 active Republican voters and 27,087 active Democratic voters, April figures show. Another 15,518 are independent or third-party voters.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.