EDITORIAL: Legislative Republicans save Lombardo’s veto

While some ballots are still being counted and received, it’s almost certain that Republicans have won at least 15 of the 42 seats in the Nevada Assembly. The GOP entered Election Day defending 14 seats, and have apparently picked up at least one additional seat. Republican Rebecca Edgeworth has a nearly 10 percentage point lead in Assembly District 35 as of Wednesday afternoon. That would be a flip. GOP candidates have small leads in other races that are too close to call.

One seat may not seem consequential, but, in this case, it has major importance. With at least 15 seats in the Assembly, Republicans have smashed the Democratic supermajority in the lower chamber, which gave them the power to override gubernatorial vetoes.

That wasn’t the case last year. In 2022, voters elected Republican Joe Lombardo as governor. But — thanks in large part to gerrymandered districts — legislative Democrats won a veto-proof majority in the Assembly. They were one vote away from the threshold in the state Senate. With a Democratic supermajority in both houses, Gov. Lombardo and GOP lawmakers would have been effectively neutered. Democrats could have ignored the minority party, overridden the governor’s vetoes and passed whatever they wanted.

At this point, it appears Republicans and Democrats will each flip one state Senate seat. The Republican victory in Senate District 11 isn’t final, however. If that holds, Republicans will also avoid super-minority status in the Senate.

These inroads didn’t happen by accident. Gov. Lombardo and his political team identified this concern well before the heat of the election season. They recruited qualified and personable candidates. They raised money. Both of those factors matter in local races when candidates have lower profiles.

The GOP progress in legislative races has policy ramifications.

For instance, last session, Gov. Lombardo and legislative Democrats poured more than $2.5 billion into Nevada’s public school system. Yet the Clark County School District remains a symbol of dysfunction. Gov. Lombardo has consistently connected more funding with “unprecedented accountability.” While he has been vague on the specifics, at least he’s talking about it. Democrats tend to avoid the issue entirely. If they had secured supermajorities in Carson City, they could have safely ignored Gov. Lombardo.

But by electing at least 15 GOP Assembly members, voters have given Gov. Lombardo leverage. If Democrats want more money to appease their teacher union allies, the governor must insist they agree to proposals that hold the public school establishment responsible for delivering academic progress.