Nevada judicial campaign filings close, many unopposed

All three Supreme Court justices up for re-election this year drew no challengers in the 2024 primary, meaning they have essentially won re-election.

With the high court seats, at least 15 judicial candidates in Clark County are running unopposed, according to county and state officials.

Filing for all judicial races in the state, including those for District Court, municipal courts and justices of the peace, closed Friday evening.

No challengers had filed in state-wide races against sitting Nevada Supreme Court justices Lidia Stiglich, Patricia Lee and Elissa Cadish as of Friday evening, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office website.

At the Clark County Government center, where local filings occurred, the last two hours ahead of filing were eerily quiet. All told, less than ten people filed in person ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline.

One of them, Christopher Tilman, filed to run for Boulder Township Justice of the Peace just before 4 p.m.

“I think I’m most qualified by far,” Tilman said. “I grew up in Boulder City.”

Tilman said he filed so late because he and his wife had been away for over a week to move their daughter to Eugene, Oregon.

“I knew I had enough time,” he said. “All the traffic was terrible today getting here by five.”

More than 50 judicial candidates filed with the Clark County Registrar of Voters, excluding municipal and Supreme Court races.

In Nevada, judicial races go directly to the general election if two or less candidates file for the same seat. Without opponents, the incumbent candidates will effectively win their seats.

If more than two file, the race faces a primary election, during which the top two vote-getters continue to the general election. If one candidate wins more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, they automatically win the race without a general election contest.

Six judicial races, including those for Dept. 5 in the City of Las Vegas Municipal Court, will be on the primary ballot in June.

At least seven races automatically advanced to the general election, including those for District Court Depts. 27 and 29, District Court Family Division Dept. N, and Justice of the Peace positions in Bunkerville, City of Las Vegas, Depts. 5 and 8, and North Las Vegas, Dept. 2.

The full list of candidates can be found below. Names with an asterisk indicate that the candidate is the incumbent.

Supreme Court

Seat C: Elissa Cadish*,

Seat F: Patricia Lee*

Seat G: Lidia Stiglich*

District Court

Dept. 7: Danielle Pieper*

Dept. 27 (Vacant): Casey Quinn, Melanie Thomas

Dept. 29: Jacob Reynolds*, Craig Friedberg

Family Division, Dept. C: Gregory Gordon*

Family Division, Dept. N: Paul Gaudet*, Kerri Maxey

Family Division, Dept. O: Regina McConnell*