By VERNON ROBISON
The Progress
The process took a little longer than usual this time around. It was more than a week after the June 9 Election Day that the final results for the 2020 Nevada Primary Election were released and canvassed on Friday, June 19.
But there seemed to be a positive side to the mail-in ballot approach taken by the state of Nevada during the COVID-19 pandemic. That was an unusually strong turnout; at least for a primary election.
The statewide voter turnout came in at 29.49 percent. That is compared to only about 23 percent in 2018 and 20 percent in 2016.
In Clark County, the voter turnout came in at 26.88 percent this year. That was high compared to the 18 percent that was seen in 2018 and 16 percent in 2016.
Mesquite City Council
The voter turnout was strong in the city of Mesquite as well with a total of 6,066 ballots cast.
In the City Council Seat 2, incumbent Brian Wursten was the clear winner ending up with a total of 3,031 votes at 53.36 percent.
Since Wursten won the primary with more than 50 percent of the vote, he was declared the winner of the race. He will not have to face a final runoff in the general election.
“I am grateful that the voters felt comfortable with me enough to vote me back in,” Wursten said in an interview late last week. “It will be an honor to return for another term.”
Wursten also expressed appreciation for the candidates who had run against him. “They are both wonderful people with a lot to offer,” he said. “I hope that they will continue to be involved and run again.”
The other two candidates were Karen Dutkowski, who received 32.18 percent or 1,828 votes, and Ronnie Skurow who got 14.45 percent totalling 821 votes.
The race for City Council Seat 5 was a lot closer. The frontrunner in the race was Karen Fielding who ended up with 2,131 votes or 37.02 percent.
Fielding said that she was excited and grateful to see so much support from the voters.
“This community means everything to me,” she said. “I am just passionate about it. I want to be one on the council who represents everyone no matter who you are. I just hope that we can all work together on being the change that we want to see in our great city.”
Coming in a close second place was Wes Boger who received 1,930 votes or 33.52 percent. That puts both Boger and Fielding on the general election ballot in November for the final runoff.
Boger commented that, as he watched the results come in, he had been surprised how close the numbers stayed.
“Things were a lot closer than I expected,” Boger said of the race. “It was a challenge with the limited campaigning we were able to do. But it has been a great experience and I look forward to November.”
Also running for Seat 5 was Steve Lisk who received 1,292 votes at 22.44 percent; and Paul Wanlass who got 404 votes at 7 percent.
State Assembly
The Republican race for Assembly District 36 was a nailbiter for much of the week as the results filtered in slowly. Incumbent Gregory Hafen II was edging just ahead of N. Las Vegas challenger Joe Bradley for much of the week.
In the end, Hafen was able to retain and strengthen his lead and ended up winning with 54.87 percent of the vote.
Because no Democratic challenger filed to run in District 36, the primary election is the final decision. Thus, Hafen will not run against an opponent in November.
Hafen was assisted by a strong showing in the Moapa Valley and in Lincoln County. District 36 takes in the northern end of Moapa Valley including the Logandale precincts and those of Moapa. But it also includes a small corner of the Las Vegas valley.
Hafen took 60 percent of the Clark County Republican votes and 64 percent of Lincoln County.
The margin was much slimmer in Hafen’s native Nye County. Though he still led there, it was with a much closer 52 percent of the GOP vote.
“I am grateful for all the support I received throughout the district,” Hafen said, “especially from the folks in Moapa Valley. I think a lion’s share of the majority lead came in from out there. It made a big difference.”
Hafen acknowledged that the upcoming session would be full of challenges. He said that he had already been researching different budget scenarios in an attempt to prepare for the special session which is expected to be held in the next few weeks.
“It is such an honor to go back to Carson City and represent District 36 again,” Hafen said. “I’m grateful for that.”
The big upset happened in the race for District 19, which includes Mesquite, Overton and a small portion of the Las Vegas valley. In that contest, Mesquite City Councilwoman Annie Black pulled off a big win.
Black ended up carrying more than 61 percent of the vote against incumbent Chris Edwards who has served three terms in the seat.
This race was also run without a Democratic contender, so Black has won the seat without a race in November.
CCSD District B
The race for Clark County School District Seat B saw a crowded field of eight candidates. A relatively even distribution of votes resulted across those candidates. But there were two clear front-runners who will advance to the November election.
Katie Williams of North Las Vegas chalked up the most votes in the race, ending up with 23.92 percent of the vote.
“This election is a clear signal that the voters of District B are tired of the status quo that they have seen from their elected representation over the last decade,” Williams said in a written statement last week.
“Most of us have the same goal – to improve education for our children. Together we will change the Clark County School District for the better.”
Logandale resident Jeff Proffitt took second in the race with 18.69 percent. In an interview last week, Proffitt said that he was pleased with the support he had received and looked forward to bringing the various voices together in a unified race in November.
“There are a lot of folks that are very good about being against things,” Proffitt said. “But that isn’t enough. You have to have a few key things that you are going to be for, and then really go after those.”
Because he lives in Logandale Proffitt said he has already experienced first hand a successful model for how education should work.
“The level of involvement and close-knit community working toward positive results in school that works so well here; that is an example of where we need to bring more of the rural ways to the big city and not the other way around,” Proffitt said. “It is a great model that I’d like to see influence some of the urban schools.”
US Congressional Races
In Congressional District 4, Democratic incumbent Steven Horsford dominated the field, ending up with 75 percent of the Democrat vote.
In the Republican primary for CD4, Jim Marchant kept a solid lead in the race against a handful of other GOP candidates. Marchant ended up with 34.75 percent. The second place candidate was Sam Peters with 28.12 percent.
Local races coming up in November
In the upcoming general election, several local races will appear on the ballot which had no primary race.
On the Moapa Valley Water District Board there will be two seats up for decision.
The race for a Logandale board seat will include incumbent Lindsey Dalley as well as Bryan Dorsey and Stan Hardy.
In the Overton seat, incumbent Ken Staton has reached his term limit. Running to replace Staton will be Derek Campbell, Scott Farnsworth, Kelby Robison and Mitchell Tobler.
On the Virgin Valley Water District Board, a Mesquite seat will be decided. Running for that seat will be Randy Laub and Michael McGreer.
In the Overton Power District Mesquite seat race, incumbent Michael Young will be up against challenger Jacob Noll.
Finally, appearing on the November ballot will be two candidates facing off for the office of Mesquite Mayor. These include incumbent Al Litman and Mesquite City Attorney Bob Sweetin.
