Emerge Nevada Alumni Succeed in 2022 Primary Election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2022

CONTACT

Danna Lovell, Executive Director

702-204-4802 | dannalovell@emergenv.org

LAS VEGAS — Emerge Nevada, the state’s premier organization that recruits and trains Democratic women and non-binary Nevadans to run for office, is celebrating its alumni’s success in the 2022 primary election, with 13 out of 19 advancing in their races to the general election in November — a win rate of 68%. These candidates represent the unique diversity of Nevada, coming from the different communities, backgrounds, and identities that make up the state. Of the 13 Emerge Nevada alumni who won their races, 7 are Black, Indigenous, Latina or Asian American Pacific Islander; 2 are Muslim and 2 are Jewish; and 2 are first-generation Americans. 3 of the winning alumni are incumbents while 6 are first-time candidates.

“Emerge Nevada has a proven track record for getting Democratic women elected, and we are proud to continue this record with this year’s primary election,” said Danna Lovell, Executive Director. “Since we launched in 2006, the program has equipped over 300 women with the skills needed to bring change to their communities. We will keep fighting to change the face and governance of Nevada politics, and look forward to supporting our 27 alumni who are heading to November’s election.”

With low turnout among Democrats, Emerge Nevada alumni were still able to advance to the general election in key down-ballot races, like Nancy Brune, a Latina and first-time candidate in a 7-candidate primary for Las Vegas City Council Ward 6. Former speaker pro tem of the State Assembly Irene Bustamante Adams also advanced to the general election, this time for the Clark County School Board. Beth Smith, another first-time candidate, won over 65 percent of the vote and is now the candidate-elect for Washoe County School Board District D. Judicial candidate Nadia Wood was also elected as a Las Vegas Justice of the Peace in her primary by winning over 50 percent of voters in her district.

The full list of Emerge Nevada alumni primary winners is:

Emerge Nevada is committed to identifying, recruiting, training and mentoring self-identifying Democratic women and non-binary people from the New American Majority — Black, Brown and Indigenous women, women and non-binary people of color, as well as LGBTQ+, young, and unmarried women — who represent a growing share of our population and the nation’s electorate yet remain underrepresented in government.

Through our 70-hour, six-month signature training program, Emerge Nevada trains women how to run for elected or appointed office and win, covering such topics as campaign planning to budgeting and fundraising, communications, field organizing, public speaking and ethical leadership. Emerge Nevada also hosts shorter bootcamps for specialty races, such as the first-in-the-nation judicial bootcamp hosted in 2019 that helped 14 out of 15 Emerge Nevada bootcamp alumni win judicial seats in 2020.

The general election will be held on November 8, 2022.

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Emerge Nevada has been building the bench for more than a decade. It is the premier organization that recruits, trains and provides a powerful network to Democratic women who want to run for office, at all levels of government. For information on Emerge Nevada or our alumni, please visit https://emergenv.org/.