Nevada Democratic Party

History

The state of Nevada has had 22 political parties over the years. Only six of these parties lasted up until the 2004 elections. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party remain as the top two in the state.

With the help of Abraham Lincoln in 1864, Nevada became the 36th state in America. Lincoln's Republican influence was considerable among the Nevada state citizens during his presidency. The first two general elections in Nevada, held in 1864 and 1867, were dominated by the Republican Party. In 1871, the Democratic Party started to gain momentum and won four of the six constitutional offices: governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer and attorney general.

Towards the beginning of the 1900s, the Silver Party was formed, bringing many Republicans and Democrats together from the western states. The party was so-named because of the federal government's shortage of silver coins in 1873. The Silver Party played a prominent role in Nevada's politics in the 1894 and 1898 elections. The Silver Party later formed the Silver Democratic Party. The Silver Democratic Party was prominent in Nevada until the election of 1906. After the election of 1906, the Democratic and Republican parties became the two primary parties in Nevada.

During the Great Depression of 1929, the two primary parties split many constitutional and federal offices. After the Great Depression, the citizens of Nevada preferred the Democratic Party over the Republican Party. Democrats were well received by Nevada and won most of the statewide and federal races from 1932 until 1995.

March 2021 staffing incident

In March 2021, The Intercept reported on a five-year intra-party conflict in the Nevada Democratic Party, waged between supporters of former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and members of the party's progressive wing since the 2016 Democratic presidential primaries. Following sweeping gains of leadership positions by progressive candidates backed by the local Democratic Socialists of America chapter on March 6, the entire Nevada Democratic Party staff resigned, taking severance for themselves and diverting the rest of the party's coffers to the reelection of Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. On March 4, 2023, a "unity" slate of candidates were elected, ending the era of DSA dominance.

Platform and structure

The current platform for the party was ratified in 2020. The topics that are covered include the military, veterans, healthcare, civil rights, education, elections and government, voting rights, environment and energy, foreign policy, jobs and the economy, and working Nevadans.

A priority for Nevada Democrats in the 2010s and 2020s has been increasing the minimum wage. In 2019, Democratic governor Steve Sisolak signed a bill passed by a Democratic legislature to raise Nevada's minimum wage to $12 an hour.

The party has a formal set of by-laws that form the party structure. These by-laws contain nine articles with many sections in each article.

Executive Board

• Chair: Daniele Monroe-Moreno
• 1st Vice-Chair: Daniel Corena
• 2nd Vice-Chair: Francisco Morales
• Secretary: Travis Brock
• Treasurer: Leilani Hinyard

National Committee Representatives

• National Committeeman: Alex Goff
• National Committeewoman: Allison Stephens

Current Democratic officeholders

The Nevada Democratic Party controls three of the state's six statewide offices, a majority in the Nevada Senate, and a majority in the Nevada Assembly. Democrats also hold both of the state's U.S. Senate seats and three of the state's four U.S. House of Representatives seats.

Members of Congress

U.S. Senate

Democrats have controlled both of Nevada's seats in the U.S. Senate since 2018:

File:Catherine Cortez Masto portrait red (cropped).jpg|Senior U.S. Senator File:Senator Jacky Rosen Official Portrait (2022) (cropped).jpg|Junior U.S. Senator

U.S. House of Representatives

Out of the four seats Nevada is apportioned in the U.S. House of Representatives, three are held by Democrats:

Statewide offices

Democrats control three of the six elected statewide offices:

File:Aaron D. Ford.jpg|Attorney General File:Zach Conine, Nevada State Treasurer, USA - cropped (cropped).jpg|State Treasurer File:Francisco Aguilar, Secretary of State of Nevada, 2024.jpg|Secretary of State

State legislature

• Senate Majority Leader: Nicole Cannizzaro
• Senate President Pro Tempore: Mo Denis
• Assistant Senate Majority Leader: Joyce Woodhouse
• Senate Chief Majority Whip: Pat Spearman
• Senate Co-Majority Whips: Chris Brooks and Marilyn Dondero Loop
• Speaker of Nevada Assembly: Jason Frierson
• Speaker Pro Tempore of Nevada Assembly: Steve Yeager
• Assembly Majority Floor Leader: Teresa Benitez-Thompson
• Assembly Assistant Majority Floor Leader: Daniele Monroe-Moreno
• Assembly Majority Whip: Edgar Flores
• Assembly Assistant Majority Whip: Sandra Jauregui

Local groups

The party has affiliate groups in localities throughout the state:

County chairs

• Carson City: Lewis Hardy
• Churchill County: Larry Jackson
• Clark County: Chris Roberts
• Douglas County: Donna Weidner
• Elko County, Nevada: Steve Anderson
• Esmeralda County: Vacant
• Eureka County: Vacant
• Lander County: Claudio Cardoza
• Humboldt County: Vacant
• Lincoln County: Vacant
• Lyon County: Tony Stephenson
• Mineral County: Béa Whitney
• Nye County: Kelly Fitzpatrick
• Pershing County: Vacant
• Storey County: Vacant
• Washoe County: Sarah Mahler
• White Pine County: Vacant

Election results

Presidential

Gubernatorial

References

References

1. "Voter Registration Statistics".
2. Hal K. Rothman. ''The Making of Modern Nevada''. Fall 2010. September 8, 2011.
3. (March 8, 2021). "Entire Staff of Nevada Democratic Party Quits After Democratic Socialist Slate Won Every Seat". The Intercept.
4. Solis, Jacob. (March 4, 2023). "Monroe-Moreno elected NV Dems chair, ousts democratic socialist incumbent".
5. Democratic, Nevada. "2020 Ratified Convention Platform | Blog | Nevada State Democratic Party". Nvdems.com.
6. (13 June 2019). "Sisolak signs bill raising minimum wage to $12 an hour in Nevada".
7. "U.S. House passes what Nevada Legislature wouldn't: $15 minimum wage".
8. (11 April 2019). "Lawmakers tackle bill gradually raising minimum wage to $12 by 2023, first increase in eight years".
9. (31 May 2019). "Bill raising minimum wage to $12 by 2024 clears Senate, heads to governor".
10. (31 May 2019). "Democrats continue to push proposals for higher minimum wage".
11. (August 22, 2020). "Charter and Bylaws of the Nevada State Democratic Party".
12. "Party Leadership".
13. "2020-2022 Executive Board".
14. "County Parties & Statewide Clubs". nvdems.com.