Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Newcomer Carlton topples Regan

CARSON CITY -- Political newcomer Maggie Carlton, enjoying strong union backing, proved that money isn't everything in politics.

Carlton, 41, a waitress at Treasure Island, toppled Sen. Jack Regan of North Las Vegas in the Democratic primary election Tuesday in Senate District 2.

It was a bitter ending for Regan, a 10-year veteran of the Legislature who had surgery to remove a lung during the campaign. He had raised $83,674 to Carlton's $48,495.

Meanwhile, two-term Assemblywoman Genie Ohrenschall, D-Las Vegas, accused in a court fight of medically neglecting her teenage daughter, defeated two challengers in District 12. She said the voters concentrated on the issues. "They know my legislative record," said Ohrenschall, who defeated Kelvin Atkinson and former Clark County School Board member Judy Witt.

All other legislative incumbents survived primary challenges.

Carlton will meet Republican Tino Mendoza, who won the GOP nomination by a 2-1 margin over Thuong Van Nguyen in Senate District 2. Craig Kuntz, a Libertarian candidate, will be on the general election ballot.

"It's tough to take on the culinary union," Regan said. "They wanted me out and they got me." Asked if he would support Carlton in the general election, he replied, "I won't support a union stooge. But I won't support the Republican also."

Carlton said she has never met Regan and that things may calm down when the dust settles.

The defeat of Regan is expected to cement the position of Sen. Dina Titus of Las Vegas as leader of the Senate Democrats. Regan had a number of differences with Titus.

Ohrenschall said the people in her district knew the charges against her of neglecting her daughter were bogus. "It was a bureaucracy gone crazy," she said, adding government workers were acting on anonymous complaints. Her daughter, she said, is back in her home.

Ohrenschall goes against Republican Brian Clark and Independent American Ed Flores in the district in which there are 3,000 more Democrats than GOP voters.

Here is a breakdown of the other contested races:

* Senate District 7: Attorney Terry Care beat Russell Davis in the first political race for both men. Care now faces GOP Assemblyman Jack Close in the district that has 10,000 more Democrats registered than Republicans.

* Assembly District 4: Republican Bob Beers, a certified public accountant, defeated Dennis Silvers, a radio talk show host, in their first political race. Beers takes on former Democratic Assemblyman Vince Triggs in the district that has a GOP registration edge of about 2,000 voters.

* Assembly District 7: Morse Arberry, after his eighth term, defeated fellow Democrats -- former Assemblyman Marion Bennett and Louise Banks -- in a replay of the 1996 election. The GOP nomination was captured by Craig Moore, who edged Darryl Glover.

* Assembly District 13: Two-term incumbent Dennis Nolan rolled over Robert Adams in the GOP primary. Nolan meets Bill Newman, a professor of management information systems at UNLV who beat John Lowes in the Democratic primary. Republicans have a 3,000 voter registration edge.

* Assembly District 15: Kathy McClain won the Democratic nomination over three others -- Vince Juristi, Travis McNevin and Raymond Stone. McClain goes against Republican Jim Forte in a district where Democrats have a 1,700 voter majority.

* Assembly District 16: Kelly Thomas, a Las Vegas city planner, narrowly defeated attorney Chuck Gardner with Joe Phillips running third in the Democratic election. Republicans chose Stefan Steel, who edged attorney Leonard Root with John Kraft in third place.

* Assembly District 18: Two-term incumbent Mark Manendo won the democratic nomination, beating Dave Brown. Manendo now goes against Republican Patty Slack in a district in which Democrats have a 3,000-voter edge.

* Assembly District 20: John Oceguera easily won the Democratic nomination over two others -- Bradley Smith and Thomas Welsh. Oceguera meets one-term Republican incumbent Kathy Von Tobel.

* Assembly District 21: Three-term incumbent Sandra Tiffany beat fellow Republican Rick Steinkamp. Tiffany takes on Chris Hansen, a Libertarian candidate, in the general election.

* Assembly District 25 (Washoe County): Dawn Gibbons, the wife of Congressman Jim Gibbons, ran first in the GOP primary election and will meet the second-place finisher, former state Treasurer Patty Cafferata, the daughter of former Congresswoman Barbara Vucanovich. Horace Lucido, the third Republican in the race, threw his support to Gibbons but still gained 4.5 percent of the vote. Gibbons polled just under 50 percent. If she had exceeded 50 percent, she would have been elected in the primary as no Democrat filed.

* Assembly District 29 (Washoe County): Sharron Angle, a former schoolteacher, and Chistopher Sewell, a school police officer, were the top two in the GOP primary and will run it off in the general election because no Democrat filed. Rebecca Wagner, owner of a public relations firm in Reno, placed third.

* Assembly District 32 (Washoe): First-term incumbent Don Gustavson crushed Galen Mitchell, a retired state worker, in the Republican primary. Democrat Elizabeth Harrison was unopposed.

* Assembly District 37 (Washoe, Carson City) -- Attorney Gregory Brower, 34, who grew up in Las Vegas and restaurant owner Randi Thompson topped the GOP race and will face each other in the general election.

* Assembly District 40 (Carson City) -- Larry Green, a real estate broker, beat Karl Neathammer, a legal researcher, for the Republican nomination in his first election try.

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