Henderson councilwoman announces re-election bid
Henderson City Councilwoman Carrie Cox on Thursday announced she was launching a re-election campaign for her Ward 3 seat, becoming the second city official in recent weeks to announce their candidacy for the 2026 election cycle.
First elected in 2022, Cox — a former educator and restaurant owner — defeated opponent Trish Nash by 3,522 votes, or about three percentage points, on promises to bolster public safety and spur urban development. That’s in spite of Nash spending more than eight times the amount Cox did during that race, the Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported.
Cox in her announcement touted efforts in her first term she said improved transparency within the city, and promised to continue support for first responders, expand charter school opportunities and support small businesses.
“Every decision I’ve made has been guided by the voices of the people I serve,” Cox said in a statement. “This campaign isn’t about politics — it’s about continuing the work of making Ward 3 a place where every resident feels heard, respected, and confident in their local government.”
Cox was a vocal opponent against the firing of former police chief Hollie Chadwick, who was fired March 6 by city manager Stephanie Garcia-Vause over differing leadership styles, and said city officials weren’t doing enough to inform the public why they were moving on from Chadwick.
In February, a joint statement from the Henderson Police Officer’s Association, the Henderson Police Supervisors Association and the Nevada Association of Public Safety officers said they were pulling their endorsements of Cox because she “has not accurately represented to the media or public her prior knowledge about the issues related to the chief (Chadwick).”
Andrew Regenbaum, executive director of the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, told the Review-Journal on Thursday that while Cox does not currently have their endorsement, she — or any other candidate — could earn it if they “support police issues relevant to public safety,” promise to address staffing and retention issues, and supports the union’s contract negotiations with the Henderson Police Department. Regenbaum added that he is not aware of another candidate running in Ward 3.
Last month, mayor Michelle Romero announced her re-election campaign for the 2026 election cycle. Romero and Cox are believed to both be the first to announce their candidacies for their respective races, according to local political consultant Lisa Mayo-DeRiso who is now acting as a campaign spokesperson for Cox. The Nevada Secretary of State’s website lists the filing period for nonjudicial political candidates as running from March 2 to March 13, 2026.
Cox has lived in Southern Nevada for 36 years, including the last 29 in Henderson, according to Mayo-Deriso. She is married to Matthew Cox, a United States Air Force veteran, and has seven children and 11 grandchildren, according to the biography.
A previous version of this story misstated Nash’s status as an opponent
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.