Sen. Joyce Woodhouse (D-Las Vegas) has introduced a bill (SB 162) to move Nevada’s primary elections from mid-August to mid-June. Such a move benefits under-funded challenger candidates, giving them an additional two months to communicate directly with voters before the general election, as well as replenish drained coffers after contested primary elections.
Curiously, not a single Republican is listed as a co-sponsor of this common-sense bill. Instead, most of them are backing SB 120, an incumbent-protection bill which moves the primary from August to September, thus making it exceedingly more difficult for challenger candidates. Not surprisingly, this bill is being championed by Senate Minority Leader Bill Raggio (R-Reno).
Now here’s the weird part: SB 162 moves the primary to June. SB 120 moves the primary to September. And Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford and Sen. David Parks are listed as co-sponsors on BOTH bills. Hard to figure that one out.
