Preliminary Results of the 2022 Nevada Primary Election

By CRAIG HIGGINS & VERNON ROBISON

The Progress

The 2022 Primary Election in Nevada took place on Tuesday, June 14. The preliminary results were tabulated throughout the week, with mail-in ballots being accepted up until Saturday, June 18. The final official results will not be certified until next week when local precinct-level results will be available.

Voter turnout was low in the election. In Clark County, the turnout was only 19 percent. The statewide voter turnout was only 22 percent.

Republican turnout was higher in Clark County than Democrats. A total of 34 percent of Republicans voted while only 22 percent of Democrats cast ballots.

A number of local, state, and federal offices are up for grabs at a time of rising inflation and economic uncertainty. The following candidates won their races and will be headed to the General Election ballot in November:

US Senate
Incumbent Catherine Cortez-Masto (D) ran virtually unopposed, tabulating over 90% of the vote.
Republican challenger Adam Laxalt – a former state Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate – defeated a slate of candidates, most notably Sam Brown, a decorated Army veteran and Reno businessman. Laxalt pulled 56% of the vote to Brown’s 34%. Laxalt has the backing of former President Donald Trump among other prominent endorsements.

US Congress, District 4
Incumbent Steven Horsford (D) ran unopposed for the Democratic party nomination.
On the Republican side, Air Force veteran and Las Vegas businessman Sam Peters beat a large field of candidates including District 19 Assemblywoman Annie Black.
In 2020, Peters placed second to eventual 2020 nominee Jim Marchant in the CD4 primary balloting. But he came out on top this time around.

In an interview with The Progress, Peters attributed the success to his team’s work between election cycles. “Nobody knew who I was (two years ago),” Peters said.
A fiscal hawk who is strong on border security and the 2nd Amendment, the Republican candidate pledged to reach out across the district to “build more relationships” on the road to November.
“It is my goal to represent everybody, and I’ll be out and about to earn those votes,” Peters said.

Nevada Governor
In the Democratic Primary, with over 89% of the vote, incumbent Steve Sisolak (D) easily defeated former Clark County Commissioner Tom Collins for his party’s nomination.

He will face off against Republican challenger Joe Lombardo, Clark County Sheriff. Lombardo captured 38 percent of the tally, beating out a litany of primary rivals including Joey Gilbert, an entrepreneur and former boxer. Gilbert took second in the election with 27 percent of the vote. Former U.S. Senator Dean Heller took third with 14 percent. North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee took fourth with 7 percent.
Gilbert publicly questioned the primary result but so far has made no effort to request a recount.

Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Lisa Cano Burkhead held off Democratic challenger Debra March, 57% to 24%.
On the GOP side, Stavros Anthony polled 31% to win the nomination. The nearest challenger Tony Grady Jr. garnered 25% of the Republican vote.

Secretary of State
Republican Jim Marchant won the election with 38% of the vote. The nearest challenger was Jesse Haw who took 20%.
A former Nevada assemblyman and Congressional candidate, Marchant has drawn flack on the national scene for past controversial statements regarding the election process.
Marchant will face off against Democratic challenger Cisco Aguilar in November.

State Treasurer
In the Republican primary, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore advances to the General Election with 61 percent of the vote. Manny Kess got 30% in the race.

State Controller
Democrat Ellen Spiegel won a clear victory in the primary, polling 66% of the vote. Challenger Alex Costa ended up with 25%.

Attorney General
Sigal Chattah polled 51% of Republican voters, surpassing opponent Tisha Black’s 40%.
An owner of her own law firm, Chattah won a court case against the state of Nevada over issues of fair treatment for religious organizations during the pandemic.

Assembly District 19
The race for Assembly District 19 was a lively one with two Moapa Valley candidates against two Las Vegas valley candidates. Because there is no Democratic challenger for the district, the primary election was the final decision on who would serve in the seat.
In the end, Henderson Police Department veteran Toby Yurek got the clear win. He took 42 percent of the overall vote.
Logandale resident Charlie De La Paz took second with 22%. Amy Groves of Las Vegas got 21%. And Logandale resident Jerry Swanson gathered 15%.

Yurek had garnered several prominent endorsements including Mesquite Mayor Alan Litman. He campaigned on a platform of public safety and fiscal responsibility.
Interviewed over the phone after the election, the former commander of Henderson PD’s Tactical Response Bureau expressed frustration with anti-law enforcement sentiment during the 2020 nationwide protests in wake of George Floyd’s death.

Yurek said that the ‘Defund the Police’ movement had actually spurred his candidacy. He added that he and his team had knocked on 5,700 doors to get the word out. It was a grassroots effort that made a difference in the outcome, he said.

Yurek promised to go on a listening tour of District 19.
“(With the primaries finished) I can focus on meeting the folks in District 19,” Yurek said. “By the time we hit (legislative) session I can get to work and represent my district.”

Asked to expand on his ideas, Yurek said he would pursue “fundamental conservative” fiscal policies, and focus on something he claimed came up often in his many conversations with voters: breaking up the Clark County School District (CCSD) into component parts more capable of attracting and retaining good teachers.

Mesquite City Council Seat 4
Incumbent Karen Dutkowski had a strong showing in the primary election coming out as the clear front-runner. She garnered 2,042 votes at 42 percent.
In an interview after the election, Dutkowski said that she felt good about advancing to the general election. “I am excited to be going forward,” she said. “Now that the primary is over, I am getting energized to ramp things up into November.”

“I feel much better about things in this election cycle than I did when I ran in 2020,” Dutkowski added. “I have been able to spend more time getting to know people, unlike my first attempt during the pandemic. It has been good to talk to people and get their views on a lot of things.”

The race for who would be challenging Dutkowski in the November General Election ended up being almost a dead heat. Paul Wanlass and Kim Walters ended up only 39 votes apart. Wanlass won with 1,331 votes at 23.8 percent, while Walters tallied 1,292 votes at 23.1 percent. Candidate Cathy Shiring got 642 votes in the election with 11 percent.
In an interview on Monday morning, Wanlass said he was pleased to still be in the running.
“It was a good group running in the Primary,” Wanlass said. “There was no mud-slinging and they were all great candidates to run against.”

Wanlass said that Walters was a formidable opponent. “I hope she runs again in the future,” he said. “We have a lot of similar views and I think that I would vote for her if she ran again.”
Being so close in viewpoints, Wanlass hoped that he could draw on Walters’ voters to give him a bump in the general election.
“I look forward to running against Karen Dutkowski,” Wanlass said. “I have nothing against her. But I feel like I could do a really good job on the council and there are some unique things that I would offer to the position.”

Moapa Valley Constable
Former LVMPD officer Mark Harding prevailed over three other challengers with 1,025 votes or 56 percent of the vote.
Vernon Dimick had 399 votes at 22 percent; Bret Empey had 214 votes at 12 percent; and Jacob Jensen had 190 votes at 10 percent.
Since certification of the vote won’t be completed until next week, Harding was hesitant to claim full victory last week. But in a phone interview he said that he was pleased with the outcome thus far.

Bunkerville Constable
The race for the position of Constable in Bunkerville had Erik Laub and Jace Haviland advancing to the general election.
Laub received 81 votes for 43 percent of the vote. Haviland got 58 votes for 31 percent. Chad Jensen received 48 votes at 26 percent.
With all candidates getting less than 50 percent of the votes, the top two candidates: Laub and Haviland, will run off in the general election in November.