Thanks to the dozens of Sierra Club volunteers who canvassed in Nevada in the final days leading up to the election.
Green Wave Sweeps Nevada’s Elections
On November 6, 2018, Nevadans went to the polls and made clear their support for the environment. Fully 78 percent of the 60 candidates and three ballot measures endorsed by the Sierra Club in the Silver State were successful.
At the federal level, five Democratic nominees were backed by Sierra Club National, with four winning. The biggest victory was at the top of the ticket, where Representative Jacky Rosen with 50.4% of the vote defeated incumbent Dean Heller to become the state’s newest U.S. Senator.
In the congressional races, Representative Dina Titus easily returned to office in CD-1, while Susie Lee was newly elected in CD-3 and Steven Horsford was triumphant in CD-4. The only unsuccessful Sierra Club pick was Clint Koble in CD-2, where Representative Mark Amodei retained his seat.
Among the six state constitutional offices being contended, five went to environmental candidates. Steve Sisolak won the gubernatorial contest by a four percent margin statewide. Kate Marshall was elected as Lieutenant Governor and Aaron Ford as Attorney General, while Zach Conine becomes State Treasurer and Catherine Byrne is the new State Controller. The loss went to Nelson Araujo running for Secretary of State against incumbent Barbara Cegavske.
With eleven of 21 state senate seats up for election, six of the nine Sierra Club-endorsed candidates were winners. They are Mo Denis in SD02, Marilyn Dondero Loop in SD08, Melanie Scheible in SD09, Yvanna Cancela in SD10, Julie Ratti in SD13, and James Ohrenshall in SD21. The losers were Wendy Bosak in SD14, Tina Davis-Hersey in SD16 and Julie Pazina in SD20.
For state assembly, with all 42 seats up for grabs, the Toiyabe Chapter supported 35 candidates and 28 made the grade. They included Daniele Monroe-Moreno in AD01, Selena Torres in AD03, Connie Munk in AD04, Brittaney Miller in AD05, William McCurdy, II in AD06, Dina Neal in AD07, Jason Frierson in AD08, and Steve Yeager in AD09. Also elected were Chris Brooks in AD10, Olivia Diaz in AD11, Susan Martinez in AD12, Maggie Carlton in AD14, Howard Watts III in AD15, Heidi Swank in AD16, Tyrone Thompson in AD17, Richard Carrillo in AD18, Ellen Spiegel in AD20, and Ozzie Fumo in AD21.
Other winners in the Assembly races were Sarah Peters in AD24, Jill Tolles in AD25, Teresa Benitez-Thompson in AD27, Edgar Flores in AD28, Lesley Elizabeth Cohen in AD29, Michael C. Sprinkle in AD30, Skip Daly in AD31, Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod in AD34, Shea Backus in AD37, and Sandra Jauregui in AD41.
The unsuccessful Assembly candidates were Jennie Sherwood in AD02, Kristee Watson in AD22, June Joseph in AD28, Paula Povilaitis in AD32, Lesia Romanov in AD36, Patricia Ackerman in AD39, and Autumn Zemke in AD40.
At the local level, both Sierra Club-endorsed candidates claimed seats on the Clark County Commission—Tick Segerblom in District E and Justin Jones in District F. In Washoe County, Kalie Work was elected County Recorder with the Chapter’s support, although in races for County Commission Stephen Wolgast came up short in District 2 and Lindsay Judd lost in District 5.
Capping the “Green Wave,” the Chapter endorsed positions on three ballot questions this cycle and got the intended result for each of them: No on 3 (Energy Market Deregulation), Yes on 5 (DMV Voter Registration), and Yes on 6 (50% Renewable Energy by 2030).
Although not all of our endorsed candidates won their election bids, even the losses were victories in their own right. In Nevada’s mostly rural and conservative 2nd Congressional District, Club-endorsed Democrat Clint Koble came closer than any challenger ever, winning 44.77 percent of the vote (in 2016, Mark Amodei won the seat, 58.3 percent to 36.9 percent).
In California’s 4th Congressional District, Club-endorsed Jessica Morse earned 44.7 percent of the vote against incumbent Tom McClintock (who won the seat in 2016, 62.7 percent to 37.3 percent). The Club’s endorsed candidates who lost their races also enjoyed similar gains against their anti-environmental opponents.
These numbers reflect the historic turnout seen across the country; more than 113 million voters turned out during these midterm elections, the first time a midterm election engaged more than 100 million voters. It was the biggest midterm turnout since 1966.
The bottom-line take-aways from all this? People care about the environment, and they will show that support at the ballot box.
And what the Sierra Club does--and doesn't do--matters. If a single race could illustrate how important our efforts are, it would be Julie Pazina's loss in Senate District 20. With about 54,000 votes cast, she came up short by just 59. A few more volunteers door-knocking and making phone calls could have made the difference. If only we could turn back the hands of time and work a little harder here.
With the elections over, now it’s time to prepare to work with all elected leaders to protect our air, water, public lands, and public health. We’ll celebrate and support elected officials when we can, and we will hold them accountable when we must.
The election was nothing more than a draft to pick our team. Now the game begins, and we need your help to gain victories in the 2019 Legislature and beyond.
Click here to support our legislative efforts in 2019.