Nevada Senate, District 7

Map of the Las Vegas Valley with District 7 colored blue
Map of District 7

The current District 7 of the Nevada Senate contains most of Whitney, parts of Paradise and Henderson, and the southern tip of Sunrise Manor. The district has been represented by Democrat David Parks since its creation in 2012.[1][2]

History

The present seventh senatorial district was drawn during the reapportionment of the districts in 2011 after the 2010 Census.[3] The newly drawn districts became effective for filing for office, and for nominating and electing senators on January 1, 2012, and for all other purposes on November 7 – the day after Election Day, when the new senator terms began. The area of District 7 is defined in the Nevada Revised Statutes using census tracts, block groups, and blocks.[4] Senatorial elections have been held twice in the district since its creation.

District profile and demographics

District 7 has a surface area of 27 square miles (70 km2), and a perimeter of 31.5 miles (50.7 km).[5] Its territory coincides with that of assembly districts 18 and 20.[6] In 2010, District 7 was inhabited by almost 65,000 registered voters, which was 50% of the total population, and about 65% of the voting age population. Democrats are in the majority: just under 50% of registered voters are Democrats, while only slightly more than a quarter are registered as Republicans. 17% are registered as non-partisants.[7]

According to the 2010 Census, the seventh senatorial district had a population of 128,598, which was the ideal population for a senatorial district. Compared to all of Nevada, the district has a relatively low solely white population at just over 60%. Furthermore, District 7 has a higher percentage of Hispanics and Latinos: a third of its inhabitants belong to those groups.[7] Besides, the district has a comparatively high number of people between the ages of 18 and 39 (34%), and its population is educated worse than the rest of Nevada's: more people have no or only a high school diploma, while fewer people have college degrees. That results in a median household income of $46,000, which is almost $7,000 below the median of Nevada. The poverty rate, however, is at 15% the same as in the rest of the state.[8]

Elections

2012

The 2012 election was held on November 6 with Democrat David Parks and Republican Trish Marsh as candidates. Parks had been a member of the legislature for 16 years, first serving in the Assembly, and later in the Senate. Being openly gay, he fought in the legislature for LGBT rights, and authored a domestic partnership law. Besides, Parks planned on repealing needless tax exemptions, and lowering the sales tax. Marsh, who had never run for office before, and worked as a salesperson, said Parks should not prioritize LGBT rights, but instead focus on other issues. She supported lowering taxes, and merging local and state departments.[9] By November, Parks had raised over $100,000, while Marsh had self-funded her campaign with less than $2,000.[9][10] Parks, who was endorsed by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, won the election with almost two thirds of the popular vote.[1][11]

Nevada elections, 2012: Senate District 7[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic David Parks 25,567 64.2 –
Republican Trish Marsh 14,285 35.8 –
Turnout 39,852 –

2016

During the 2016 general election, voters were able to choose between incumbent David Parks and Libertarian Kimberly Schjang. No Republicans ran for the position. On June 14, 2016, a primary was held, since two Democrats had filed for the office: incumbent David Parks and Toni Wernicke. Parks, who said he would reintroduce a bill legalizing euthanasia, defeated Wernicke with over three quarters of the votes. Wernicke is an Army veteran, and had worked as a bus driver. He had run unsuccessfully for multiple public offices before, including assemblyman, senator, and mayor of Las Vegas.[12] During the campaign for the general election, Libertarian Schjang, who had never participated in an election before, said she was against tax increases, including the $1.5 billion tax increase passed by the legislature in 2015 in order to provide more funding for public education. Parks had voted in support of that bill.[13] On November 8, Parks won the election, receiving over two thirds of the votes.[2]

Nevada elections, 2016: Senate District 7[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic David Parks (Incumbent) 28,431 69.5 +5.3
Libertarian Kimberly Schjang 12,454 30.5 +30.5
Turnout 40,885 +2.6%
Republican primary, 2016: Senate District 7[14]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ David Parks (Incumbent) 3,222 77.2 –
Toni Wernicke 950 22.8 –
Turnout 4,172 –

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Nevada State Senate". Silver State Election. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  3. ↑ "Final District Plans: Congressional, Legislative, and Board of Regents". Nevada Legislature. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  4. ↑ "CHAPTER 218B - LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  5. ↑ "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Area Analysis Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  6. ↑ "Who's My Legislator / What's My District". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 24 December 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Population Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  8. ↑ Research Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau (May 2015). "Demographic Profile of Nevada Senate District No. 7 of the 78th Session (2015)" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  9. 1 2 Ragan, Tom (21 October 2012). "2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Senate District 7". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  10. ↑ Milliard, Trevon (4 November 2012). "GOP banks on taking control of state Senate". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  11. ↑ "For state Senate". Las Vegas Review-Journal. 16 September 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Corey, Alexander S. (27 May 2016). "State Senate District 7". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  13. ↑ Corey, Alexander S. (25 October 2016). "State Senate District 7". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  14. ↑ "State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 3 August 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  • "Map of District 7" (PDF).
  • "Larger map of District 7" (PDF).

Coordinates: 36°05′N 115°04′W / 36.09°N 115.07°W / 36.09; -115.07

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