Nevada Senate, District 9

Map of the Las Vegas Valley with District 9 colored blue
Map of District 9 (left district)

The current District 9 of the Nevada Senate contains a large part of Enterprise, southern Summerlin South, and the southwestern part of Spring Valley. Between its creation in 2012 and the 2014 election, the district was represented by Democratic Senator Justin Jones.[1] At present, it is vacant following the resignation of Republican Becky Harris.[2]

History

Originally, the 9th district was created after the 2000 census. It first stretched from Northwest Las Vegas into Enterprise and Southwest rural Clark County. The modern District 9 was drawn during a reapportionment after the 2010 Census.[3] The new districts became effective on January 1, 2012 for filing for office, and for nominating and electing senators, and for all other purposes on November 7 – the day after Election Day, when the new senator terms began. The area that the ninth senatorial district occupies is defined in the Nevada Revised Statutes using census tracts, block groups, and blocks.[4] Two senatorial elections have been held in the district since its creation.[1][2]

District profile and demographics

District 9 has a total surface area of 63 square miles (160 km2), and it has a perimeter of 43.7 miles (70.3 km).[5] The area of the ninth senatorial district exactly matches that of districts 9 and 35 of the Nevada Assembly.[6] The district contains about 57,000 registered voters, which is 45% of the total population and three quarters of the voting age population. In 2010, 41% of them were registered as Democrats, and 34% as Republicans. Nineteen percent of registered voters were nonpartisans.[7]

The ninth senatorial district had a total population of 128,882 according to the 2010 Census, which was 0.22% above the ideal population for senatorial districts. Nearly 60% of its population is solely white, which is below Nevada's percentage. Besides, almost a quarter of District 9's inhabitants are Asian Americans. No other senatorial district in Nevada comes close to that percentage. The Hispanic and Latino population in the district is relatively low compared to the rest of Nevada: it amounts to just over 15%.[7]

District 9 also has a relatively large percentage of young adults, and a small percentage of seniors. In 2015, almost 38% of its inhabitants were between the ages of 17 and 40, and nearly 13% were 60 or older. Furthermore, District 9's population is better educated than the population of all of Nevada. Over 30% of its inhabitants have a bachelor's or a graduate's degree, while only 8% has no high school diploma. That results in a median household income of $72,000, which is $20,000 more than the Nevada median. The poverty rate is half of that of the rest of Nevada.[8]

Elections

2012

In 2010, Republican Elizabeth Halseth was elected senator representing District 9, which back then had different borders. On February 17, 2012 – during her term – she resigned after her husband was arrested and after they had divorced subsequently. On November 6, 2012, an election was held to find a successor, who would serve for the remainder of Halseth's term.[9] The general election was between Democrat Justin Jones and Republican Mari Nakashima St. Martin.

Since more candidates had filed for the office, a primary was held for both the Democrats and the Republicans on June 12. Democrat Jones was challenged by Frederick Conquest. Jones was a lawyer, and had never been elected to office before. He was defeated when he ran for assemblyman in 2004.[10] Conquest, a professor at the College of Southern Nevada, had unsuccessfully participated in an election as well: he had run for governor in 2010.[11] Jones, who had received the endorsement of the Senate Democratic Caucus, won the primary with over 80% of the votes.[11][12] Brent A. Jones participated besides St. Martin in the Republican primary. Although St. Martin had never run for office before, she had obtained political experience as spokeswoman of the Nevada GOP. Jones was a business owner, who supported the Tea Party movement. Both candidates were against tax increases and advocated fewer regulations.[11] St. Martin was endorsed by the Republican Senate Caucus, and won the primary with 54% of the votes.[13][12]

Jones mainly campaigned on jobs and education, advocating smaller classes. He said a better education system would attract new businesses to the state. Education was an important campaign issue for St. Martin as well. She said the government should not cut funding for schools, and wanted more cooperation between schools and businesses. Furthermore, St. Martin advocated a decrease in the number of business regulations. During the campaign for the general election, Jones was part of a group of attorneys that represented the Las Vegas Sands in a civil lawsuit. The judge fined the company $25,000 after the group of attorneys had an "intention to deceive". Jones, who was not personally convicted, defended himself, saying he did not misled the judge himself, and saying "there was no obligation [...] to correct someone else." St. Martin, however, said she thought Jones "had problems with the truth", and informed voters about the incident.[14] Jones won the election with a small margin although St. Marin had raised more money.[1] By late October, she had raised nearly $350,000, while Jones had raised about $280,000.[15]

Nevada elections, 2012: Senate District 9[1]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Democratic Justin Jones 21,849 50.3 –
Republican Mari Nakashima St. Martin 21,548 49.7 –
Turnout 43,397 –
Democratic primary, 2012: Senate District 9[12]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Justin Jones 1,605 82.5 –
Frederick Conquest 340 17.5 –
Turnout 1,945 –
Republican primary, 2012: Senate District 9[12]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Mari Nakashima St. Martin 1,641 54.2 –
Brent A. Jones 1,386 45.8 –
Turnout 3,027 –

2014

When Jones' term ended in 2014, he sought re-election. No other Democrat filed for the office, so no Democratic primary was held. A Republican primary was held on June 10, since four Republicans ran for the seat. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, District 9 was one out of three districts that "[would] decide which party [would control] the Senate."[16] By losing all three of those seats, the Democrats would lose their majority in the Senate.[17]

The four Republicans who filed for the office were Becky Harris, Vick Gill, David Schoen, and Ron Quilang.[18] Harris, an attorney, had run for the Nevada Assembly before, but lost the general election.[18][19] She was endorsed by the Senate Republican Caucus. Gill had never participated in an election before. He said he strongly opposed the Affordable Care Act, and pointed out negative effects of the law for Nevada during his campaign. Schoen participated, since he felt young voters were not adequately represented. He said he would listen to both parties if elected. Quilang was born in the Philippines, and said he competed because Nevada was "moving backward", and not many politicians represented small businesses. He had been charged with theft in 2010, but the felony was later downgraded to a misdemeanor. During his campaign, Quilang called gun control, which he opposed, the most pressing issue.[18] Harris won the primary with a little over half of the votes. Gill received two fifths of the votes, while the two other candidates both received less than 10%.[20]

During the general election campaign, Harris presented herself as a moderate Republican. The Las Vegas Review-Journal went further by calling her "[a] Republican running on Democrat issues."[21] Jones' campaign was supported by the unions Culinary and AFL–CIO, that both provided volunteers.[22] In September, Jones was attacked in a television ad about Jones' incident while representing Las Vegas Sands as an attorney. The Review-Journal called the ad misleading.[23] Two polls were conducted, the first in late September by the Republican pollster The Tarrance Group, and the second in early October by Democratic pollster Momentum Analysis. The difference between the candidates was in both polls within the margin of error. According to the poll by The Tarrance Group, Harris would get 45% of the votes and Jones 42%. The Democratic poll said Jones would get more with 46% of the votes, while Harris would get 44%.[24] On November 4, Harris defeated Jones with 55% of the votes, resulting in a Republican majority in the Senate.[2]

Nevada elections, 2014: Senate District 9[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Republican Becky Harris 12,475 55.2 +5.5 pp
Democratic Justin Jones (Incumbent) 10,116 44.8 -5.5 pp
Turnout 22,591 -47.9%
Republican primary, 2014: Senate District 9[20]
Candidate Votes % ±
✓ Becky Harris 1,830 50.3 –
Vick Gill 1,452 39.9 –
David Schoen 206 5.7 –
Ron Quilang 153 4.2 –
Turnout 3,641 +20.3%

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  3. ↑ "Final District Plans: Congressional, Legislative, and Board of Regents". Nevada Legislature. 7 June 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  4. ↑ "CHAPTER 218B - LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  5. ↑ "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Area Analysis Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  6. ↑ "Who's My Legislator / What's My District". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Nevada State Senate - 2011 Districts: State of Nevada Population Report" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  8. ↑ Research Division of the Legislative Counsel Bureau (May 2015). "Demographic Profile of Nevada Senate District No. 9 of the 78th Session (2015)" (PDF). Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  9. ↑ Vogel, Ed (17 February 2012). "GOP's Halseth resigns state Senate seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  10. ↑ Vogel, Ed (27 February 2012). "Democrat Justin Jones to run for vacant state Senate seat". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  11. 1 2 3 Packer, Adrienne (27 May 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: STATE SENATE DISTRICT 9". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  13. ↑ Myers, Laura (27 May 2012). "2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: Balance of power up for grabs with electorate split, races tight". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  14. ↑ Vogel, Ed (21 October 2012). "2012 Voter Guide: Nevada Senate District 9". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  15. ↑ Vogel, Ed (29 October 2012). "State Republicans have the money advantage in key legislative races". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  16. ↑ Morrison, Jane Ann (10 June 2014). "Early voting appears to boost GOP Senate takeover plans". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  17. ↑ Myers, Laura (8 June 2014). "It's been a slow primary season, but there's still much at stake". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  18. 1 2 3 Morrison, Jane Ann (25 May 2014). "Four Republicans in primary to unseat Sen. Justin Jones in District 9". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  19. ↑ Cook, Glenn (29 June 2014). "Early look at November's tastiest races". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  20. 1 2 "Nevada State Senate". Nevada Secretary of State. 15 July 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
  21. ↑ Sebelius, Steve (27 October 2014). "5 reasons Democrats aren't showing up to vote". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  22. ↑ Myers, Laura (30 October 2014). "Vegas unions rally to save key Democrats from Republican sweep". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  23. ↑ Sebelius, Steve (22 September 2014). "The best political attack? One your opponent can't answer". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  24. ↑ Myers, Laura (8 October 2014). "Polls show GOP running strong in key state Senate races". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  • "Map of District 9" (PDF).
  • "Larger map of District 9" (PDF).

Coordinates: 36°02′N 115°17′W / 36.03°N 115.28°W / 36.03; -115.28

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