First-timer hopes to upset veteran lawmaker in Las Vegas Assembly race

First-time candidate Jennie Sherwood will have to score an even bigger upset than she did in the Democratic primary if she hopes to unseat Republican incumbent John Hambrick in the Nevada Assembly.

Hambrick has represented District 2 since 2009, and he is favored to win a sixth and final term from a Summerlin voting block where Republicans outnumber Democrats by almost 1,900.

Sherwood already has some experience bucking the odds. The Democratic establishment backed her opponent, David Orentlicher, in the primary, but Sherwood won.

The union electrician hopes that she can repeat the feat in November.

“My chances are looking super good right now,” Sherwood said. “I think my message is resonating really well with everyone.”

Hambrick said he hopes voters will send him back to Carson City so he can continue his work against human trafficking and on behalf of juvenile offenders. He has submitted three bill draft requests on those issues, as he looks to build on a legislative legacy that includes laws targeting traffickers, protecting victims and keeping people under the age of 18 from being sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole.

Hambrick said Las Vegas was once a notorious destination for human traffickers, but that is changing. “Nevada has come a long way to fight this scourge,” he said.

As for his other legislative priorities, the 73-year-old one-time Assembly speaker said a lot will depend “on the posture of our caucus” after the election, as Republicans hope to cut into their 12-seat deficit in the 42-member Assembly — or at least stave off a Democratic super majority.

Sherwood said she is knocking on as many doors in the district as she can to push an agenda aimed at lifting up Nevada’s working class. She supports raising the minimum wage in Nevada to $10 an hour as soon as possible and tying it to inflation so it continues to grow.

The union-backed candidate also favors laws to control prescription drug prices and other health care costs, boost school funding and attract more investment in the state’s manufacturing and renewable energy sectors.

Sherwood, 41, has lived in Las Vegas since she was in kindergarten and in Summerlin for the past 15 years. She spent 12 years as an electrician for Las Vegas sign-making giant YESCO and now considers herself a contracting “free agent.”

Hambrick retired to Las Vegas in 2000, after he wrapped up an almost-30-year career in federal law enforcement that included a stint at the White House as part of President Richard Nixon’s Secret Service protection detail.

He and his wife, Nancy, have been married since 1966 and have a daughter, a son and four granddaughters.

District 2 stretches from Town Center Drive and the 215 Beltway in the south to Summerlin Parkway in the north and from Fort Apache Road in the east to the valley’s western edge. Though Republicans hold the registration edge, the district is also home to a sizable number of nonpartisan and third-party voters who tend to lean to the right, so Hambrick likes his chances.

But if the past chairman of the Clark County Republican Party has learned anything about politics, it’s “never take any group for granted,” he said.

Sherwood said she first started mulling a run for office a few years ago. She initially planned to wait for the next election cycle, but she decided to speed up her plans once she heard talk about “a blue wave” and “the year of the woman.”

“I thought I’d be a fool to sit this one out,” she said.

Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.