2012 PRIMARY ELECTION: ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 36

To put it in casino terms, the Republican winner of the state Assembly District 36 primary will be a pretty safe bet to take November's general election.

The four Republicans vying for the newly formed district, which encompasses rural parts of Clark County, as well as Lincoln and Nye counties, have a distinct advantage in registered voters - 45 percent to 32 percent Democratic .

The Republican winner will face unopposed Democrat Anthony Wernicke, a perennial Nevada candidate with failed campaigns for the state Senate, Las Vegas mayor and Clark County assessor in recent years.

Walt Grudzinski moved to Pahrump two years ago and recently retired from the Department of Defense.

With 20 years in the Army and 23 more in the Defense Department, Grudzinski said he has vast experience dealing with national committees defending intelligence budgets.

"Going through the budget cycle here, revenues aren't coming in and there will be cuts," he said. "My goal is to be part of the process to make sure rural Nevada gets its fair share. Let's cut some government red tape and help balance the books. Quality of life is a big deal, it's a reason I came to Nevada, and we need to make sure we keep it."

Grudzinski said he has experience in office and served on a small-town Arizona city council in the late '90s.

Delmar W. Leatham is a Logandale resident and a Nevadan for more than 50 years, he said.

Leatham, a Brigham Young University graduate, has been a lobbyist for 20 years for the Overton Power District, where he is now the general manager, but from which he will soon retire.

Leatham, a conservative, believes government should have more accountability in how it spends taxpayers' money.

"I suppose I fall under the school of the little red hen," he said. "You have the right to decide how to spend the income you earned and it shouldn't fall to the government to tell you how to dispose of your income."

Leatham said he would like to see changes to the education system, which, he said, hasn't evolved much since his grandfather was a student.

"I don't want to use the term cut costs in education, but re-emphasize where the dollars are spent in education," he said.

James Oscarson is marketing director and ombudsman at Desert View Hospital in Pahrump. He moved to Nevada in 1979 and has lived in Pahrump, Las Vegas and Logandale, three cities within his district.

"I have a better, more rounded experience from living in all those areas and I've been here for 30 years," Oscarson said. "I have seen good and bad in all the communities and the struggles all people are facing."

Oscarson said he has worked in the health care industry for a few decades and realizes the issues facing Nevadans.

Although this is Oscarson's first foray into politics, he said he has children and grandchildren throughout the state and is extremely invested in Nevada's future.

"I want to get back to basics and show the people they can trust the Legislature and their elected officials and have a voice in the Legislature."

Nathan "Nate" Schlumpf did not return calls seeking comment for the story.

Contact reporter Mike Blasky at mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.