Assembly District 10

Although she is an incumbent, Republican Shelly Shelton might have an uphill battle in Assembly District 10. Most of the residents there are Democrats.

In 2014, Shelton successfully challenged Democratic candidate Jesse “Jake” Holder’s residency: A Clark County District Court judge ruled Holder ineligible for the race. Shelton won by 0.8 percent of the vote.

Democrat Chris Brooks, her opponent this year, is making his first run for office. He said he and Shelton disagree on the government’s role in people’s day-to-day lives. He suggested Republicans might disagree with her, too.

“I think there’s some very strong Libertarian stances in her published positions that are probably outside of the norms for most Republicans in our district,” he said.

But like some Libertarians, Brooks favors legalizing recreational marijuana.

“Our law enforcement and criminal justice system could be utilizing their limited resources to protect our communities from violent criminals instead of arresting, prosecuting, and incarcerating nonviolent low-level drug offenders,” Brooks wrote.

Brooks and Shelton disagree about guns. On her election website, Shelton makes a pledge to work to restore the power of the Second Amendment as intended by the Founding Fathers and spelled out in the Nevada Constitution.

“I will defend the God-given right for every free man and woman in the state of Nevada to keep and bear arms,” Shelton said on her website. She did not returned calls for further comment. Brooks owns a gun and favors expanding background checks for gun purchases to most private sales and gun shows, the issue covered by state Question 1.

On education, Shelton co-sponsored Assembly Bill 378, which would have revised provisions governing the financial support of charter schools. The bill was not brought up for a vote.

Brooks said education is a complex issue without an easy fix.

Contact F. Andrew Taylor at ataylor@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4532. Follow @FAndrewTPress on Twitter.