Nevada Senate, District 6

Map of the Las Vegas Valley with District 6 colored blue
Map of District 6

The current District 6 of the Nevada Senate contains a part of the city proper Las Vegas. Its inhabitants are represented by senator Nicole Cannizzaro since the 2016 election.[1] Before that election, District 6 was represented by Mark Hutchison and Mark Lipparelli in that order.[2][3]

History

The sixth senatorial district was created when the districts were redrawn in 2011 as a result of the 2010 Census.[4] The borders of the redrawn districts went into effect on January 1, 2012 for filing for office, and for nominating and electing senators. They became effective for all other purposes on November 7 – the day after Election Day, when the new senator terms began. The borders of District 6 are defined in the Nevada Revised Statutes using census tracts, block groups, and blocks.[5] Two senatorial elections have been held in the district since its creation, and one person has been appointed senator for the district.

When it was established in the 1980s, Clark County Senate District 6 took up most of northwest Clark County. Indian Springs, Mt. Charleston, Blue Diamond and the western suburbs of Las Vegas were part of the district. In the 1990s, it contracted in size to accommodate the growing community of Summerlin and expanding suburbs in the western part of the Las Vegas Valley. It has been redrawn in the same general area since.

Former holders of the seat include Ray Rawson, Bob Beers and Allison Copening.

District profile and demographics

District 6's surface area amounts to 25.9 square miles (67 km2), and it has a perimeter of 28.4 miles (45.7 km).[6] The territory of the district overlaps exactly with that of the assembly districts 34 and 37.[7] Just over 75,000 registered voters lived in District 6 in 2010, which was 60% of the total population and 75% of the voting age population. Only three of the 20 other senatorial districts had a higher number of registered voters. 43% of registered voters were Democrats, and 36% Republicans. Another 16% was non-partisan.[8]

District 6 had a total of 128,587 inhabitants according to the 2010 Census, which was 0.01% below the ideal population for Nevada's senatorial districts. About 70% of the district's population is solely white, and almost 20% is Hispanic or Latino, which is relatively low compared to the rest of Nevada.[8] Nearly a quarter of the inhabitants of District 6 are 60 years old or more, which is 6% more than in all of Nevada. Furthermore, the district's population is a little bit better educated than the rest of Nevada. For example, just under 10% of its residents have no high school diploma compared to over 15% in Nevada. The median household income is a few thousand dollars above the median of the entire state, and the poverty rate is 11%.[9]

Elections and appointment

2012 election

Republican Mark Hutchison won the election with a slim majority of the votes.

During the 2012 general election, voters could choose between Republican Mark Hutchison and Democrat Benny Yerushalmi. For the Democrats, a primary was held since both Benny Yerushalmi and Thomas Welsh filed for the office. Yerushalmi, who ran for the Nevada Senate two years earlier, but lost, wanted to diversify the economy, so that it wouldn't be too dependent on tourism and gaming. Moreover, he wanted to adjust the education system in order to accommodate a diversified economy. His opponent, Welsh, had tried to become assemblyman before, but lost the election in the late 1990s. Welsh said he participated because he didn't like the way things were going in the Senate, condemning the lack of communication between politicians. Furthermore, he wanted to change the education system, and he wanted to avoid foreclosures on homeowners.[10] The primary, that was held on June 12, was won by Yerushalmi, who received just over 55% of the votes.[11]

During the campaign for the general election, both candidates focussed on education and the economy. Hutchison, who had never held public office prior to the election as well, said school districts could save millions of dollars by rewarding construction projects to the lowest responsible bidder instead of caring about "prevailing wages" for the construction workers. Yerushalmi continued the rhetoric from the primary campaign: he, for example, advocated more cooperation between higher education and employers.[12] Hutchison went into the election with more contributions: he raised well over $500,000, while Yerushalmi came not much further than $250,000.[13] Republican Hutchison won the general election on November 6 with a narrow margin.[2]

Nevada elections, 2012: Senate District 6[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Mark Hutchison 27,499 50.8 –
Democratic Benny Yerushalmi 26,598 49.2 –
Turnout 54,097 –
Democratic primary, 2012: Senate District 6[11]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Benny Yerushalmi 2,510 55.5 –
Thomas Welsh 2,009 44.5 –
Turnout 4,519 –

Hutchinson's replacement (2014)

Halfway through his term – in November 2014 – Senator Hutchison won the election for Lieutenant Governor of Nevada. The Clark County Commission had to fill the vacancy by choosing one of the applicants. Republicans were able apply for the vacant seat between November 7 and December 1.[14] Almost a dozen people applied, among whom Glenn E. Trowbridge and Mark Lipparelli, former chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board. The latter was supported by Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson.[14][15] Hutchison offered his letter of resignation to Governor Brian Sandoval on December 1, and the Clark County Commission unanimously chose Lipparelli to fill the position the following day.[16][17] One of the county commissioners said the decision was influenced by Governor Sandoval.[17]

2016 election

During the 2016 election, incumbent Mark Lipparelli didn't seek re-election.[18] The two candidates were Democrat Nicole Cannizzaro and Republican Victoria Seaman. Seaman, a realtor and business owner, became the Republican candidate after getting over 60% of the votes during a primary on June 14.[19] The other participant in that primary was Erven T. Nelson. Both Seaman and Nelson had been elected to the Nevada Assembly in 2014, but Nelson resigned during his term in order to run for senator. While serving as assemblyman, Nelson supported a $1.5 billion tax increase, that had passed the legislature earlier in order to provide more funding for public education, while Seaman opposed the tax increase, arguing that it would put a lot of people out of business.[18] The Senate Republican Caucus had endorsed Nelson.[20]

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the general election would be a close race, and could determine whether the GOP would keep its majority in the Senate.[21] Prior to participating in the election, Nicole Cannizzaro was a prosecutor in the office of the Clark County district attorney. She said she supported the education reforms the legislature had passed in the previous years, and supported alternative education programs. Besides, she said she would back expansion of programs treating mental health problems and programs combatting substance abuse.[22] In August – two and a half months prior to the general election – a telephone poll among 301 registered voters was released. According to the poll, that had a margin of error of 5.8%, Seaman would get 45% of the votes, while Cannizzaro would receive 41%. Furthermore, the poll concluded Seaman had better name recognition.[23] In September, the Democratic Party spread flyers that said Seaman "shares a vision" with Bunkerville cattle rancher Cliven Bundy. In response, Seaman called the flyers deceptive, and said she "had nothing to do with Cliven Bundy."[21] According to the last campaign finance reports, Cannizzaro had raised almost $415,000, while Seaman had raised not much over $300,000.[24] During the election on November 8, Democrat Cannizzaro won with a majority of less than two percent of the votes, which resulted in a Senate majority for the Democrats.[1] According to Seaman, the expensive primary contributed to her loss, while the Republican Senate Minority Leader, Michael Roberson, attributed the defeat to the fact that District 6 contained more registered Democrats than Republicans.[20]

Nevada elections, 2016: Senate District 6[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Nicole Cannizzaro 28,733 50.9 +1.7
Republican Victoria Seaman 27,697 49.1 -1.7
Turnout 56,430 +4.3%
Republican primary, 2016: Senate District 6[19]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Victoria Seaman 3,894 62.8 –
Erven T. Nelson 2,308 37.2 –
Turnout 6,202 –

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nevada State Senate". Silver State Election. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  3. ↑ Myers, Laura (2 December 2014). "Lipparelli named to Nevada Senate seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "Final District Plans: Congressional, Legislative, and Board of Regents". Nevada Legislature. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "CHAPTER 218B - LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Area Analysis Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  7. ↑ "What's My District Interactive Map". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Population Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  9. ↑ Research Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau (May 2015). "Demographic Profile of Nevada Senate District No. 6 of the 78th Session (2015)" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Packer, Adrienne (27 May 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: STATE SENATE 6". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  11. 1 2 "State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Ragan, Tom (21 October 2012). "2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Senate District 6". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Vogel, Ed (29 October 2012). "State Republicans have the money advantage in key legislative races". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 26 December 2016.
  14. 1 2 Botkin, Ben; Myers, Laura (18 November 2014). "Mark Lipparelli called favorite for Nevada Senate appointment". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  15. ↑ Botkin, Ben (1 December 2014). "County commissioners to fill state Senate vacancy". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  16. ↑ Whaley, Sean (1 December 2014). "Lt. Gov-elect Hutchison officially resigns Senate seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  17. 1 2 Myers, Laura (2 December 2014). "Lipparelli named to Nevada Senate seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  18. 1 2 Botkin, Ben (27 May 2016). "State Senate District 6". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  19. 1 2 "State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  20. 1 2 Morrison, Ann (30 November 2016). "Victoria Seaman's defeat was bigger loss for GOP". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  21. 1 2 Chereb, Sandra (17 September 2016). "Senate candidate rips Nevada Democrats for linking her to Cliven Bundy". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Chereb, Sandra (24 October 2016). "State Senate District 6". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  23. ↑ Chereb, Sandra (22 August 2016). "Seaman-Cannizzaro race tight for state Senate District 6". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  24. ↑ Chereb, Sandra (5 November 2016). "Reports show fundraising edge for some Nevada legislative candidates". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 27 December 2016.
  • "Map of District 6" (PDF).
  • "Larger map of District 6" (PDF).

Coordinates: 36°13′N 115°17′W / 36.21°N 115.28°W / 36.21; -115.28

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