Assembly District 34

Democrat Shannon Bilbray-Axelrod is hoping to take back at least one Assembly seat for her party that was lost during the Red Wave of 2014.

Bilbray-Axelrod, who has not run for elected office before, is facing fellow political newcomer Republican Matt Williams to represent Assembly District 35.

The seat was previously held by Victoria Seaman, who won the Democratic-leaning district after her opponent was disqualified over residency requirements. That year, Republicans took over both the state Senate and Assembly, and won all the constitutional officer positions, include the attorney general and governorship.

Bilbray-Axelrod is a daughter of former U.S. Rep. James Bilbray, D-Nev.

Bilbray-Axelrod supports Question 1, which would expand background checks in Nevada to private gun sales, saying she is “very much in favor of closing the gun show loophole.”

She is in favor of bringing light rail public transit to Southern Nevada, wants to help rework the state’s higher education system to ensure better oversight of the Board of Regents, and wants Nevada to focus on and invest more heavily in renewable energies such as solar.

Williams is a staunch opponent of expanding background checks.

He is worried about voter fraud and supported the Nevada Voter Identification Initiative, which would have required registered voters to provide identification to a board officer before casting a ballot.

The initiative did not garner enough signatures and was left off the 2016 ballot.

Williams said he opposes Question 2, which would allow adults over 21 to possess and use marijuana recreationally. His opposition is based not on moral issues, but because it would only benefit a few corporate marijuana growing companies.

“This particular law is very poorly written,” Williams said.

Although Seaman won the seat in 2014, Assembly District 34 leans Democratic. Forty-four percent of its active voters are Democrats, 30 percent Republican, according to the Nevada secretary of state’s office. Independents make up another 20 percent.

Contact Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.