Five primary election races to watch

Early voting begins in just 13 days, and Election Day is 30 days away.

Please, ladies and gentlemen, hold your applause.

Yes, it's only the primary election. Yes, it's still spring.

After generations of September votes and a two-cycle experiment with an August partisan ballot, Nevada will have just its second June primary this year. It's good news for county registrars, who now have four months to prepare general election ballots, and for primary candidates, who don't have to walk neighborhoods in 110-degree heat.

The electorate, however, is no more enthused. Turnout will be small, as usual.

It doesn't help that this year's primary is decidedly lacking in showstopping races. Among the state's five federal campaigns, just one - the new 4th Congressional District seat - has a competitive primary that will matter come November. State Sen. Barbara Cegavske is running against perennial candidates Danny Tarkanian and Ken Wegner and six other Republicans.

But despite the public's apathy, there are a handful of important and interesting down-ticket races to watch. So, even if you're inclined to tune out politics before Memorial Day, familiarize yourself with these five primary campaigns:

1. State Senate District 18: Republican Assemblymen Scott Hammond and Richard McArthur square off in a northwest Las Vegas primary for the right to seek a new Senate seat created by last year's redistricting. Winning District 18 is central to the GOP's strategy to regain the majority in the Senate, which Democrats currently control, 11-10.

The race has created a rift among conservatives. McArthur, a retired FBI agent, is among the Legislature's most conservative members, consistently voting no on tax increases and sponsoring legislation to reduce the number of bills that can be introduced. Hammond, however, has the support of the Senate Republican Caucus, even though he has just a single term as an assemblyman under his belt. Hammond, a high school teacher, supported extending expiring tax increases last year. McArthur refused to get out of the race despite a lack of caucus support. (Conrad Vergara is in this race as well, but he's a major underdog.)

2. State Senate District 1: Incumbent Democrat John Lee is being challenged by Patricia Spearman. The North Las Vegas district is such a safe seat for Democrats, no Republican entered the race; the Democratic nominee will face Independent American Gregory Hughes in November.

Nevada Democrats are exceptionally good at avoiding primary fights and preserving their resources for the general election. The Senate District 1 primary is a bit of a novelty, however, because Spearman is running to the left of Lee, saying she's a "real Democrat."

Lee is a Second Amendment supporter who voted against the state's domestic partnership bill. Unlike the rest of his caucus, Lee has observed that increasing taxes too much can hurt the economy. Spearman is a minister, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and she's gay. The party machine backs Lee.

With the Democratic Party rallying around gay marriage, Spearman could pick up more support. She'll need it.

3. State Senate District 11: This is a classic old guard versus new guard race. Former seven-term Assemblyman Harry Mortenson, at age 81, wants to go back to Carson City. Term limits sent the Democrat into retirement in 2010, the same year Aaron Ford made his first run for the Legislature, a loss to Republican Sen. Joe Hardy.

Term limits created this vacancy by ending the service of Democratic Sen. Mike Schneider. The winner between Mortenson and Ford is a lock in November, because Democrats dominate the southwest valley district. Ford, 39, is one of the better candidates Democrats have recruited in recent years, a schoolteacher turned lawyer with a doctorate in education administration. The party is backing Ford over Mortenson, who still enjoys name recognition in the area.

4. Clark County School Board, District A: The primary election is a referendum on board Vice President Deanna Wright. There's no other way to explain why she drew not one, but two viable challengers in the nonpartisan race. (The top two finishers advance to November's ballot.)

Wright, a former PTA president and generally unimpressive trustee, made news in her 2008 campaign by having a website full of spelling and grammatical errors - and winning the endorsement of teacher unions nonetheless. A lot of Henderson residents want someone better.

Wright is running against former Clark County Education Association President Mary Ella Holloway and Kevinn Donovan, a construction manager who lost a 2010 Assembly race to Republican Lynn Stewart. Donovan is an unusual Democrat: a school choice advocate who supports vouchers and empowerment campuses. Holloway, meanwhile, has one of my favorite campaign websites. It boasts of her 40 years as an educator, but doesn't make a single reference to her time in union leadership, or how she parlayed that position into a job with the Clark County School District's administration as teacher morale officer and "project facilitator," a position she held until last year. Surely that oversight is a coincidence.

5. Assembly District 39: This Northern Nevada Republican primary will help reveal whether conservative, tea party voters are energized in this campaign. Incumbent Kelly Kite of Minden has been pummeled by activist Chuck Muth, the state's keeper of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, for supporting the extension of expiring tax increases last year. Challenger Jim Wheeler has signed the pledge and vows to oppose another extension in 2013, which already has the backing of GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Republican establishment.

Take the time to cast an informed vote.

Glenn Cook (gcook@reviewjournal.com) is a Review-Journal editorial writer.