Nevada’s election season officially starts Monday

Nevada’s 2014 election season officially gets underway today when candidates for judicial offices around the state can file their declarations of candidacy.

The filing period for judges and justices runs through Jan. 17.

Filing season for other political offices does not begin until March. The filing period runs from March 3 to March 14.

All four congressional seats and all the state constitutional officers, including the governor’s office, are up for election this year.

In Clark County, elections will be held for three County Commission seats, the top county offices of sheriff, district attorney, assessor, clerk, recorder, treasurer and administrator, constable seats in the townships, three county School Board seats, three university regents seats and multiple special district seats in the rural areas.

The primary election is June 10 and the general election is Nov. 4.

But the judicial filing period starts the campaign season off first.

Two of the seven Supreme Court justices, Mark Gibbons and Kris Pickering, are up for re-election and are expected to file today. If they do not draw any opponents, they will be on the November general election ballot unopposed for new six-year terms.

Judges or candidates filing for office for Clark County District Court or for justice of the peace can also file beginning today at the Clark County Government Center.

All 52 departments in the Eighth Judicial District are open in the 2014 election.

And just a reminder for judges and justices seeking re-election or candidates seeking judicial office: No personal checks are allowed for the filing fee.

— Sean Whaley

SEN. GUSTAVSON SEEKS RE-ELECTION

Conservative state Sen. Don Gustavson made it official last week, announcing he will run for another term in the Legislature this year.

“Today I am formally announcing my intent to maintain the Senate seat I currently hold because I am invested in Nevada — I raised my children here and now my grandchildren are being raised here,” said Gustavson, R-Sparks.

Nevada’s continuing high rate of unemployment combined with the ongoing home foreclosure crisis is overwhelming and unacceptable, he said.

“The constituents I serve are steadfast that an expansion of government that is intrusive and burdensome is counterproductive to creating a business friendly environment that encourages existing businesses to expand and new companies to move here,” he said.

Gustavson’s Senate District 14 seat is one of six held by Republicans up for re-election this year, and it has a strong GOP voter edge. One of the six is now an open seat since state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, cannot run for another term due to term limits.

Republicans are outnumbered in the state Senate by an 11-10 margin and are seeking to gain ground in this election cycle, but they have an uphill battle.

Cegavske’s Senate District 8 seat has a modest Democratic registered voter advantage.

The four Senate seats up for re-election and now held by Democrats all have strong Democratic voter registration edges and that party is looking to gain ground as well.

Gustavson is finishing his first four-year term in the state Senate. He previously served in the Assembly.

“My constituents trust me to continue my work with other lawmakers to promote legislation that trims bureaucratic red tape and helps foster the creation of new jobs in this state,” he said. “It’s time once and for all to allow Nevadans to be exposed to an environment that spreads economic opportunities and expands free enterprise that embraces an atmosphere where businesses can thrive and families can prosper.”

— Sean Whaley

NEVADA VOTER LIST UPDATED

More than 50,000 Nevadans disappeared from the state active voter list in December as part of a routine cleanup of the rolls.

The 50,607 residents removed from the active voter list can still vote in Nevada in this year’s primary and general elections but they should update their address information with local election officials if there have been any changes.

The cleanup of the rolls still leaves nearly 1.2 million registered active voters in Nevada as the 2014 election season gets underway in earnest.

The secretary of state’s office reports that through December, there are 1,190,025 active registered voters.

Of that total, 41.4 percent, or 492,956, are registered Democrats. Another 34.9 percent, or 415,320, are Republicans. Nonpartisan voters make up 17.6 percent, or 209,185. The remainder are registered with one of Nevada’s several minor parties.

Democrats have a 77,636 voter edge statewide over Republicans, but that advantage is almost entirely located within Clark County.

Democrats outnumber Republicans 369,394 to 252,399 in the state’s most populous county, or nearly 117,000 active voters.

Washoe County Republicans outnumber Democrats by nearly 4,000 active voters.

Of the state’s four congressional districts, only District 3, represented by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., is competitive between the two major parties.

As of the end of 2013, Democrats had a slight edge in the district, with 125,129 active voters compared to 118,771 Republicans. Heck is facing Democratic challenger Erin Bilbray in that race.

— Sean Whaley

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.