VICTOR JOECKS: Four takeaways from Nevada’s primaries

Turnout was low, but there were some high-interest results from Tuesday’s primary. Here are four observations.

1. Republican voters trust Trump. To me, the most fascinating race was the Republican primary in the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Reno and much of rural Nevada. After Rep. Mark Amodei unexpectedly announced his retirement, the race came down to two very different GOP candidates.

Former state Sen. James Settelmeyer had deep roots in the district, but little time to raise money. David Flippo moved from CD4 to CD2 after 2024 GOP Senate nominee Sam Brown decided not to run. Because he was already running and could self-fund, Flippo had a substantial financial advantage. Of the two, Flippo is likely more conservative.

Outgoing incumbent Amodei and Gov. Joe Lombardo endorsed Settelmeyer. Turning Point Action backed Flippo. In the middle of early voting, President Donald Trump unexpectedly endorsed Flippo. That took much of the suspense out of the race.

Interestingly, Flippo led Settelmeyer in early returns, which likely included more ballots cast before Trump’s endorsement. As more ballots came in, Flippo pulled away and is ahead by around 10 points as of Thursday.

All of Trump’s endorsed candidates won. His endorsement in the 3rd Congressional District appears to have played a key role in Marty O’Donnell’s GOP primary victory. Tera Anderson had an impressive second-place showing. She should run for a lower office in 2028.

2. Lombardo’s lackluster night. The governor easily secured the GOP nomination. Some of his endorsed candidates didn’t fare as well. Aside from Settelmeyer, Chris Hicks lost the Washoe County district attorney primary to Wes Duncan. Shirley Folkins-Roberts, his endorsed candidate for secretary of state, trails perennial candidate Jim Marchant.

On his April campaign finance report, Marchant reported no campaign donations and no cash on hand. Presumably, he raised some money, but Marchant seems to be ahead because of his residual name ID. He was the Republican SOS nominee in 2022 and lost in the general.

Many of Lombardo’s endorsed candidates did win, but they were heavy favorites aside from his support. The most impressive victory for one of his endorsed candidates was Heidi Kasama defeating Albert Mack in the Clark County Commission District F primary.

3. The Clark County Education Association’s whiff. In Carson City, one of the most powerful special-interest groups is the CCEA. But it failed to deliver at the ballot box. The union campaigned heavily for former North Las Vegas City Councilman Isaac Barron. He was running against incumbent state Sen. Edgar Flores. Even after his DUI arrest, Flores won comfortably. Another CCEA-endorsed Democrat, Assemblyman Howard Watts, is trailing in a very tight race as of Thursday.

4. It takes too long to count ballots. This is only the warmup, but there are reasons to be concerned about how long it will take to get results in November. As of Thursday, some races remain too close to call, including the GOP race for state treasurer. The Assembly primary between Watts and challenger Miguel Davila is almost dead even. That race may not be decided for a week.

Election results should be known on election night, especially in November when a whole lot more people will be watching.