Nevada Democrats hold legislative majorities as governor loses

Nevada Democrats retained and likely padded their majorities in the state legislature, including picking up an Assembly supermajority pending the final outcome of a couple of close races.

The midterm election victories came as Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo (R) unseated Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), setting up a new political dynamic when legislators return to Carson City next year.

Going into the election, Democrats held 12 of the 21 seats in the state Senate and 26 of the 42 seats in the state Assembly. If they win the uncalled races they’re currently leading, Democrats would have 13 Senate seats and 28 Assembly seats starting in 2023.

“Nevadans all across the state have rejected the GOP and their out-of-step extremist beliefs on elections, the economy, and abortion,” Jessica Post, president of the Democratic Leadership Campaign Committee, said in a statement. “Democrats will build on this victory and continue to help create a safer, more affordable future for Nevada.”

The DLCC said it spent nearly $2 million in Nevada to protect the Democratic majority.

The Republican State Leadership Committee initially targeted Nevada as a state where it could pick up legislative seats. It moved the state into its “Opportunities to Flip Chambers” category in July, along with Maine, Oregon and Washington, in an effort to maximize “the favorable political environment,” according to a memo at the time.

The RSLC said it spent $1.1 million this year on Nevada legislative races.

Democrats have held both chambers since 2017. Sisolak’s victory in 2018 gave them one-party control of  state government for the first time since 1992, according to Ballotpedia.

But now the governor’s office has slipped from their hands with the election of Lombardo, whom former President Donald Trump endorsed.

“Divided government is the outcome that the business community wanted, and that is much easier to achieve by electing a Republican governor than trying to flip two legislative chambers, particularly after the Democrats unilaterally drew the state legislative maps last fall,” said David Damore, a political scientist at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.

Damore said the dynamic in Carson City will likely “curb legislation from the fringes.”

“Lombardo is very much a blank slate and he will be inheriting a budget prepared by his predecessor, so it may not be until the 2025 session that he is able to put a strong policy imprint on the state,” Damore said.

The Nevada legislature meets every two years, unless called into special session. Under Democratic control, the 2021 legislature passed a raft of progressive bills on topics including racial justice, policing and access to voting. Lawmakers also cracked down on untraceable guns known as “ghost guns” and raised the legal age to purchase tobacco and nicotine products to 21.

The Nevada legislature is scheduled to convene on Feb. 6 for its 120-day biennial session.