Drawing no opposition, 15 candidates win races in Nevada
CARSON CITY — Fifteen candidates on Tuesday’s ballot won the election months ago. All they needed to do was vote for themselves to achieve victory.
That’s because they either drew no opposition; their opponents dropped out; or they received the most votes in a closed primary with no other candidates vying for the post.
Three incumbent legislators and one newcomer won their primaries in June. With no other opponents, they needed only a single vote in the general election to win. They are state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-Las Vegas, District 4 in Las Vegas; Assembly incumbents Paul Anderson, R-Las Vegas, District 13 and Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas, District 19, both in Las Vegas; and Lisa Krasner, R-Reno, a Legislature newcomer who will represent District 26 in Washoe County.
Five other Assembly incumbents drew no opposition even in the primary and appeared on the ballot as the only candidate in their races — Olivia Diaz, District 11, North Las Vegas; Nelson Araujo, District 3, Las Vegas; Ira Hansen, District 32, Sparks; John Ellison, District 33, Elko; and Jim Wheeler, District 39, Gardnerville.
Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, in District 14, had a Republican opponent but she moved out of her district and informally withdrew from the race. However, Melody Howard’s name still appeared on the ballot because she missed a deadline to have it removed.
All five Nevada appellate court judges received free rides to new six-year terms on the bench, needing only one vote to win. They are Supreme Court Justices Ron Parraguirre and James Hardesty; and Appeals Court Judges Jerry Tao, Michael Gibbons and Abbi Silver.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.
