Assembly District 36

No Democrats are challenging the three Republicans vying for Assembly District 26 and for good reason: the GOP has a 15 percentage point lead in registered voters.

Tina Trenner and Rusty Stanberry are new faces trying to defeat incumbent James Oscarson. Each has lived in Nevada for years — Trenner for 27 and Stanberry for 25.

Trenner has never held political office and decided to run because of “Oscarson’s dishonesty,” she said.

“In a room full of people, he looked at all of us right in the eyes and swore he would not raise taxes,” referring to his eventual support of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s $1.5 billion tax increase, called the biggest tax hike in state history, approved in 2015.

“We’ve had enough establishment people,” she said, adding that she has a “Ph.D. in living.”

Trenner said the Bureau of Land Management should be removed from Nevada, adding that she supports Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy, who was involved in an armed standoff with federal agents in 2014. She also wants to decentralize the Clark County School District, which she said has “totally just become a monster.”

Stanberry also wants to decentralize the school district, because “the funds are being wasted due to mismanagement at the administration level.” He added parents should be more involved in education spending choices.

The incumbent, Oscarson, who holds an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association, has been endorsed by both Sandoval and Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison.

Though Oscarson said he “certainly opposes” tax increases, in reference to his support of the governor’s budget, he said, “The bottom line is a very broad and diverse group of businesses came to me and said, ‘Please do this. It’s important for Nevada and it’s important for us to retain and recruit people in the state of Nevada.’”

Looking forward, Oscarson said expanding access to school and health care facilities in rural Nevada is a key issue.

Oscarson said he does not support legalizing recreational use of marijuana, which is Question 2 on the November ballot, because in states that have already legalized it, the “cons outweigh the pros.” And given the millions of tourists Nevada sees each year, he added, “I am just not confident that we will be able to manage all of the downsides and social costs that will accompany legalized, recreational use.”

Trenner also opposes recreational marijuana, referring to it as a “dangerous substance that has no redeeming quality for our society.” But she’s OK with medical marijuana if prescribed by a physician.

Stanberry, who has never held public office, said it was a “great question for the people of Nevada to decide on,” adding that he has “always believed it (marijuana) should be decriminalized due to the overpopulation of our prisons for minor drug offenses.”

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal or 702-387-5290. Find @rachelacrosby on Twitter.