Incumbent Clark County District Attorney David Roger easily won the Republican primary Tuesday, stepping over opponent Frank Cremen to advance to the general election.
With nearly 100 percent of the vote in, Roger led Cremen with 65 percent of the votes.
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Roger interpreted that as a sign that the public supports his agenda of being tough on criminals, especially repeat offenders.
"I'm certainly pleased the voters realize the DA's office is doing everything it can to protect the community," Roger said, crediting his staff with working to achieve that end.
Roger goes on to face Democratic challenger Patrick Ferguson in the November general election.
Roger is putting behind him a Republican campaign that became increasingly negative as Cremen, 58, a private practice attorney, began running campaign advertisements that claimed the district attorney's office was in disrepair and that referred to political corruption.
"I don't like negative campaigning," said Roger when asked about the tone of the primary.
Roger defended himself against the contention that high staff turnover reflected poor management. He said that people leave the office for a variety of reasons.
Roger, 44, said he plans to focus on the general election and get the word out on what his priorities are. That includes strengthening the office's gang unit to respond to the increasing incidents of gang crime in Clark County.
He said he also plans to maintain his focus on putting away repeat offenders.
"In the last 23 months, more people have been sentenced as habitual criminals than in the last seven years," Roger said.
