MAKE AN IMPACT BY VOTING
ENDORSEMENTS FOR SOUTHERN NEVADA
GENERAL ELECTION 2024
Democracy and your rights are under attack in this election. How Congress (Senate & House) is decided will affect women’s rights, same-gender marriage, gender equality, access to voting, immigration reform and wages.
During the 2024 Primary, some races were decided by a few dozen votes.
We must keep our majority in Congress, the state legislature, judicial races, the even the Nevada Secretary of State office, where a fake elector must be defeated.
Please vote and urge your friends to vote.
Visit https://www.voteamerica.org/am-i-registered-to-vote/ to check your registration!
In the text below, or by following the link to a four-page PDF document, you’ll find the latest Nevada Impact and Las Vegas Spectrum voter’s endorsement guide. We’ve been doing a voter endorsement guide since 1995. There’s still plenty of time for early voting if you’re not registered, just go here … https://voteamerica.org
The Nevada Impact guide was originally part of the Las Vegas Bugle and was shared through other print and online media, including QVegas, the Las Vegas Night Beat and most recently, the Las Vegas Spectrum. The Spectrum’s print edition, with its current 17,000+ distribution, is the primary vehicle where this guide is distributed.
We encourage you to share the guide. Any other publication is authorized to use this via either print or links. Please, post our links on your social media, share with your email lists and text messages. NevadaImpact.com is always the place to go for LGBTQ+ and Progressive voting information.
Several local groups have voter guides, some with endorsements and some only with information. We suggest guides from Battle Born Progress or Institute for a Progressive Nevada, the HRC, Silver State Equality, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), Nevada NOW (National Organization of Women) and your local union.
While our issues have a large emphasis on LGBTQ+ policies, we’re also committed to women’s equality, living wage issues, racial equality, comprehensive immigration reform, safe gun laws, the right to choose (the right to abortion), conservation and protecting our environment, protecting the right to vote and ending gerrymandered voting districts.
Please note: We are aware of several LGBTQ+ candidates who are running. Some we endorsed but some we did not. It’s not a matter of their principals, it’s a matter of who can realistically get elected.
Always check our website. https://NevadaImpact.com for the latest from our group.
Meanwhile, please keep in mind that this voter’s endorsement guide, while edited by Rob Sclegel, several long-time community and political leaders contribute to this list.
To check your voter status, register, change address, check dates, etc., visit the Clark County Voter Services website. Here is a shortened website address for your convenience:
DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY HERE
LGBTQ+ | Progressive endorsements
Our choices are as follows:
2024 GENERAL Election in Clark County
United States President President / Vice President of the United States
Henderson, Leo (Rep)
Kamala Harris/Tim Walz (Dem)
Kamala Harris is an enthusiastic supporter of pro-equality policies and the LGBTQ+ community. As a senator, she introduced a bill to force insurance companies to cover PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV prevention), and while vice president she spoke out against the slew of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. As vice president, she has spoken out against conservative states that banned gender-affirming care for transgender youth. She has been one of the strongest voices on women’s healthcare, specifically as it pertains to abortion and pre-natal care.
Donald Trump/JD Vance (Rep)
United States Senate
Brown, Sam (Rep)
Rosen, Jacky (Dem)
Sen. Rosen has been supportive of our community and of women since day one. Additionally, it is imperative that the Dems keep and improve their control of the US Senate which confirms most presidential appointments, including federal judges and justices for the US Supreme Court.
Representative in Congress Dist 1
Robertson, Mark (Rep)
Titus, Dina (Dem)
A lifetime record on our rights and best of all, she’s our friend in Washington. This is not the “safe seat” it once was. Make sure you vote!
Representative in Congress Dist 3
Representative in Congress Dist 3 Johnson, Drew (Rep)
Lee, Susie (Dem)
Exemplary Member of Congress and a champion of everything we know to be right, fair and equal. We’re proud to endorse.
Representative in Congress Dist 4
Horsford, Steven (Dem)
He’s done a great job. This will be an incredibly difficult general election. This district covers multiple counties, including Esmeralda, Mineral, Nye and parts of Clark, Lincoln, and Lyon. If you have friends and family in these rural areas, please encourage them to vote!
Lee, John (Rep)
State Senate District 1
Brinkley, Patricia (Rep)
Crawford, Michelle “Shelly” (Dem)
Former SEIU, very friendly on LGBTQ+ issues. Supported by (former) Senator Pat Spearman. Shelly is the Equal Opportunity officer for the Nevada National Guard. She brought forward an alternate method for teacher credentialing, which the legislature passed.
State Senate District 3
Howard, Brent (Rep)
Nguyen, Rochelle (Dem)
The obvious choice. Smart, former public defender understands issues faced by folks with lower income. Super sharp. Was an Assembly co-sponsor to modernize HIV laws.
State Senate District 4
Neal, Dina (Rep)
State Senate District 5
Atlas, Jennifer (Dem)
Will be a great legislator. Endorsed by Nevada NOW.
Buck, Carrie Ann (Rep)
State Senate District 6
Cannizzaro, Nicole J (Dem)
Senate majority leader! Great leader and great on our issues.
State Senate District 7
Douglass, Jill M (Rep)
Lange, Roberta (Dem)
Former County and state Democratic chair. She’s earned our respect.
State Assembly District 9
Neely, Erica A (Rep)
Yeager, Steve (Dem)
Great incumbent. Let’s keep him working on social justice issues.
State Assembly District 10
Karris, Venise L. (Dem)
This is a vacant seat. Venise Karris is our choice.
State Assembly District 11
Lustick, Jeffrey A (Rep)
Moore, Cinthia (Dem)
This is a vacant seat. Cinthia Moore is our choice.
State Assembly District 12
Carter, II, Max (Dem)
Newly elected in 2022. Did a great job.
Roecker, Nancy S (Rep)
State Assembly District 13
Andrews, Daniel (Dem)
This could be a pickup seat for Dems. CCSD teacher for young felons in the NV prison system, argues for fair-share taxes from mining and casinos, supports better transition of incarcerated returning to society which should reduce recidivism, pushes alternative energy and is pro-choice.
Hibbetts, Brian (Rep)
State Assembly District 14
Mosca, Erica (Dem)
Filipina works in education and non-profits. Listens. Quick learner. No opponent.
State Assembly District 15 Spence, Melissa Lynn (Rep) No Dem opponent. Do you live in this district? Consider running!
State Assembly District 16
Gonzalez, Cecelia (Dem)
First elected in 2020. Good on our issues.
Neville, James William (Rep)
State Assembly District 17
Hunt, Linda F (Dem)
“Family” and retired USAF, dealing with equal opportunity and equity
Olson, Robert J (Rep) Bown, Antario “Tiger” (Rep)
State Assembly District 18
Considine, Venicia (Dem)
Long-time activist and champion of civil rights. Let’s keep her in the Assembly.
State Assembly District 19
Yurek, Thaddeus “Toby” (Rep)
State Assembly District 20
Orentlicher, David (Dem)
Has done a fine job in the NV Assembly. UNLV professor who is an attorney and physician.
Vaughan, Stan (Rep)
State Assembly District 21
Arndt, April (Rep)
Marzola, Elaine (Dem)
Great job so far. Let’s keep her. Has worked hard on labor, education,
Vaughan, Stan (Rep)
State Assembly District 21
Vaughan, Stan (Rep)
Marzola, Elaine (Dem)
Great job so far. Let’s keep her. Has worked hard on labor, education, and judiciary issues. Has a degree in women’s studies from UNLV and a law degree.
State Assembly District 22
Hardy, Melissa (Rep)
State Assembly District 23 Gallant, Danielle (Rep) S
State Assembly District 28
D’Silva, Rueben (Dem)
He did a great job in 2023, and, in fact, no one is even running against him.
State Assembly District 29
Dalia, Joe (Dem)
Impressive young attorney. Will be an outstanding legislator.
Owens, Annette Dawson (Rep)
State Assembly District 34
Davis, Brandon (Rep)
Nadeem, Hanadi (Dem)
Our choice!
State Assembly District 35
Edgeworth, Rebecca (Rep)
Wahab, Sharifa (Dem)
A dentist who has advocated for personal and healthcare for seniors.
State Assembly District 36
Drake, Marlene (Dem)
Hafen, II, Gregory (Rep) Has advocated for rebuilding Lundy elementary school at Mount Charleston.
State Assembly District 37
Backus, Shea (Dem)
Great on our issues and has progressive values.
Brog, David (Rep)
State Assembly District 41
Sandra Jauregui (Dem)
A survivor of the 2017 shooting at Route 91 Harvest Festival. Led the enactment of Q-2, our Marriage Equality Amendment. A progressive leader. Rafael Arroyo-Montalvo (Rep) Clark County Comm.
Dist A Hamilton, Ryan (Rep)
Naft, Michael (Dem)
County Commissioner District B
Kirkpatrick, Marylyn (Dem)
A real ally on the commission and gets shit done, unlike the guys. This woman, who literally clawed her way up after getting every obstacle life could throw in her way, is a great mom, grandmother and literally takes care of everyone. She was always an active mom, Girl Scout leader, served on the PTA board, excellent on our issues. If you want “your mom” advocating on your behalf, be sure you live in Commission District Thanks mom!
Welsh, Jesse (LPN)
County Commissioner District C
Becker, April (Rep)
Bilbray-Axelrod, Shannon (Dem)
Four-term supporter in the Assembly. She would do well on the Commission.
County Commissioner District D
Gomez, David J (Rep)
McCurdy, II, William (Dem)
Currently serves as vice-chairman and doing a fine job.
Supreme Court Justice Seat C
Cadish, Elissa (NP)
Supreme Court Justice Seat D
Lee, Patty (NP)
Supreme Court Justice Seat G
Stiglich, Lidia (NP)
District Court Judge Dept 7
Pieper, Danielle K. (NP)
District Court Judge Dept 14
Lefebvre, Alan J Neanderthal, homophobic.
Tallin, Tina
Former prosecutor, has worked on diversity in the workforce.
District Court Judge Dept 27
Coffing, Terry
Friend and ally of our community. This is a dual endorsement
McCloud, Alexandra Beth
Friend and ally of our community. Has attended Lambda Business Chamber. This is a dual endorsement
District Court Judge Dept 29
Reynolds, Jacob (NP)
Dist Court Judge Family Div Dept C
►Gordon, Gregory C (NP)
Gordon, Gregory C (NP)
Dist Court Judge Family Div Dept N
Gaudet, Paul N (NP)
Maxey, Kerri (NP)
Former public defender, formerly with Legal Aid of S. NV., involved in Juvenile court, good background.
Dist Court Judge Family Div Dept O
McConnell, Ginna (NP)
Regent State University District 1
Bowen, Matthew T (NP)
Fernandez, Carlos D (NP)
Regent State University District 4
Bautista, Aaron (NP)
Regent State University District 12
Holmes-Sutton, Tonia (NP)
Carvalho, Amy J (NP)
Has done a good job since 2018. Her opponent references several times that he is a “Christian,” and we fail to see how that has anything to do with the Regent’s job. Carvalho has Nevada Faculty Alliance support.
Maxham, Jonathan A (NP)
Member State Board of Ed Dist 1
Braxton, Tricia (NP)
Her opponent is supported by Moms for Liberty. Very bad news.
Underwood, Tim (NP)
Cantu, Rene (NP)
Member State Board of Ed Dist 3
Ford, Danielle (NP)
Trustee Clark School District A
Catarata, Karl (NP)
Endorsed by Silver State Equality. This is a dual endorsement.
Stevens, Emily (NP)
She will be pragmatic in her decisions and base her votes on facts. This is a dual endorsement.
Trustee Clark School District B
Eady, Eileen (NP)
Has been attending school board meetings and Lundy (Mt. Charleston) meetings. Opponent is another bad apple from Moms for Liberty.
Dominguez, Lydia (NP)
Trustee Clark School District C
Henry, Tameka (NP)
Community activist.
Garcia Morales, Evelyn (NP)
Trustee Clark School District E
Bywaters, Kamilah (NP)
Great advocate for kids. Her opponent is another crazy from Moms for Liberty.
Biassotti, Lorena (NP)
HENDERSON City of Henderson Council Ward II
Larson, Monica “Doc” (NP)
Shaw, Dan K (NP), Facing a complaint that he lives in Payson, Utah, not Henderson.
Hend. Twnshp Justice Court Dept 1
Allred DiGiacomo, Sandra (NP)
Renteria, Marla (NP)
Down-to-earth. The best choice.
CITY OF NORTH LAS VEGAS NLV City Council Ward 2
Garcia-Anderson, Ruth (NP)
Taylor, Robert (NP)
NLV Justice of the Peace Dept. 2
Cooper, Jonathan (NP)
Has been both a prosecutor and a public defender. Supported by NOW, LUANA, SEIU, Electricians, Hispanics in politics
Hoeffgen, Sean (NP)
Las Vegas Mayor Non-Partisan
Berkley, Shelley (NP)
A longtime friend and strong ally! She fought for us in Congress for years. Was president of Touro Medical School and now ready to get back in the game!
Seaman, Victoria (NP)
City of Las Vegas Council Ward 5
Summers-Armstrong, Shondra (NP)
Miller, Cameron (NP)
Las Vegas Justice Peace Dept. 2
Sciscento, Joseph (NP)
Bradford, Kristal (NP)
Las Vegas Justice Peace Dept. 4
Smith-Peterson Jessica (NP)
Was chief, deputy public defender. Understands diversity.
Baucum, Suzan (NP)
No! Very conservative.
Heap, Hilary (NP)
Leavitt, James Dean (NP)
Wacky
Las Vegas Justice Peace Dept. 5
Cruz, Cynthia (NP)
Community oriented, respected by other judges.
Cole, Madilyn
Las Vegas Justice Peace Dept. 8
Bernstein, Nancy (NP)
Ferreira, Amy (NP)
Founded animal cruelty task unit, team chief of the domestic violence unit
Ballot Questions
Question 1 -- Yes
Board of Regents.
Makes elected Board of Regents, which manages universities in Nevada, appointed positions. This allows the state legislature to provide oversight to review and change the governing organization of state higher education. Many voters simply skip these elections because the position is so obscure. Vote Yes.
Question 2 -- Yes
Revises insulting language.
Removes insulting and outdated language used in the Nevada Constitution to describe individuals with mental illness blindness or deafness.
Question 3 -- No
Open primaries and ranked choice voting. This is about bringing big, corporate money into small elections. We operate on a two-party system and if an independent wants to vote in the primary, all they need to do is join one of the two, major political parties (they can “unjoin” before the next election). If an independent wants to run for office, they run in the general. The primary is for parties to decide who they want to endorse for the general. The indendents should have no say in who the parties run. If one party wants to saddle the other with a loser candidate, they can pour money into the “loser’s” race, thus making sure the “loser” is the opponent in the general election, facing off against their preferred candidate. This question also includes “ranked choice” voting and if you make a mistake picking your top five candidates, your ballot can be thrown out. This is a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Finally, you need to worry about who is funding the commercials which support this measure. It’s not the independent voters, who by their very definition, don’t have the party infrastructure to fund the campaign for “yes on 3.” Intelligent Nevadans are better than this. Vote NO on 3.
Question 4 -- Yes
Removes slaverly as punishment. Like Question 2, this takes antiquated and insulting language out of our Nevada Constitution. Our constitutionallows the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments. More practically, it allows the use of incarcerated individuals to be paid mere pennies by private industry, which uses that cheap labor to compete with against more fair-minded, for-profit companies.
Question 5 -- Yes
Removes the “diaper tax.” Amends the Nevada Constitution to prohibit sales tax from being charged for child and adult diapers. Like the “pink tax” against women’s hygiene products, this is about fairness. Individuals who need incontinent supplies, children or adults, shouldn’t be taxed for basic necessities.
Question 6 -- Yes
Right to Abortion Initiative.
While abortion is legal in Nevada, with the recent corruption and plain stupidity on the US Supreme Court, this initiative further enshrines women’s healthcare choice into the NV Constitution. It also means that should the Nevada Legislature ever be taken over by right-wing extremists, it’ll be even more difficult for a bunch of elected officials to take healthcare decisions aways from a patient and their doctor.
Question 7 -- No
Voter Identification Initiative.
While it may sound logical,on the surface, it’s really about sowing distrust in our current election process and giving credence to those who want to steal our elections. It’s already criminal to vote if you’re a non-citizen. Many people in low-income households, have health issues, don’t have the means or the funds to travel to a DMV when their state-issued ID expires, and this law would disenfranchise their votes, Likewise, many Nevada voters who are Native Americans, live on reservations. Due to the way their mail is delivered, their mailing address rarely matches up with their physical address (if they even have one). This could cause voter disenfranchisement of Native Americans and low-income persons. This is a blatant attempt by the Republican party to take away the vote from persons who they believe the majority of which will not vote Republican.
Make sure you read and understand Questions 3 and 7. While they sound sensible, they are actually deceptive and unfair. They’re both efforts to take away your vote or deny access to the ballot for minorities.
