Women score big, majority in Assembly, 1st in U.S. history

It was a heady day for female candidates in Nevada’s election Tuesday.

For the first time there will be two women in the U.S. Senate representing Nevada.

Two of the four congressional seats will be held by women.

Three of the six state constitutional offices will be held by females when the new terms start in January.

In the races for state Senate, women captured four of the nine seats up for election.

And females won 22 of the 42 Assembly seats. Nevada will become the first state in U.S. history to have a legislative body in which the majority are women.

Democrat Rep. Jacky Rosen defeated Republican Sen. Dean Heller who was seeking re-election.

Heller won in all 15 rural counties but lost in metropolitan Clark and Washoe counties. Rosen rolled up 50.4 percent to 45.4 percent in nearly complete returns.

Democrat Rep. Dina Titus posted an easy re-election victory over Republican Joyce Bentley in Clark County by 66.2 percent to 30.8 percent.

Democrat Susie Lee triumphed over perennial Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian for the other House seat in Clark County by 51-42 percent.

Kate Marshall, a former state treasurer, won the job of lieutenant governor, beating Republican Sen. Michael Roberson of Las Vegas by 50.3 percent to 43.6 percent.

Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske narrowly defeated Democratic Assemblyman Nelson Araujo 48.9 percent to 48.2 percent. This will be Cegavske’s second term after serving in the Legislature.

Catherine Bryne, a Democrat, defeated her boss, state Controller Ron Knecht, 50.5 percent to 46.2 percent. Bryne is an employee of Knecht who was seeking a second term.

The Nevada Supreme Court has traditionally had a majority of men of the seven members. But the results show all three female candidates swept to victories.

Justices Michael Douglas and Michael Cherry are retiring.

Starting in January there will be a 4-3 split with women in the majority.

Justice Lidia Stiglich, who was appointed to the court, won her first election for a six-year term. She beat Clark County District Judge Mathew Harter 46.5 percent to 30.7 percent.

Clark County District Judge Elissa Cadish won a seat on the Supreme Court, defeating Jerry Tao, a member of the state Court of Appeals. She polled 45.2 percent to 32.4 percent for Tao.

Abbi Silver, a member of the Court of Appeals, was unopposed for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. She had 71 percent with the rest “None of the Above.”

Democrats control both houses of the Legislature.

That apparently means Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez of Reno will retain her post as House Majority Leader. She was unopposed in the election.

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, D-Las Vegas, was unopposed. She will probably keep her seat as chairwoman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, that will write the state budget for the coming two fiscal years.

Democrat Sen. Joyce Woodhouse of Las Vegas wasn’t up for re-election. But she apparently will continue as chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee that joins in preparing the state’s budget.