Two Democrats, two Republicans seek attorney general seat

By Liam Hibbert
The Center Square

Editor’s note: This is part of a series previewing the congressional and statewide races in the Nevada primary election, set for June 9. The election will determine which Democrats and Republicans will face each other in the Nov. 3 general election.

Candidates for Nevada’s open attorney general seat are debating over President Donald Trump, corruption, reproductive rights, immigration and voting rights – but mainly over who has the right experience to get the job done.

On June 9, the Democratic and Republican primaries will each feature two candidates vying to serve as the state’s top prosecutor. State Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, D-Las Vegas, and state Treasurer Zach Conine are running against each other in the Democratic primary. In the Republican primary, it’s Douglas County Commissioner Danny Tarkanian against lawyer Adriana Guzman Fralick. The winners of the two primaries will square off in the Nov. 3 general election.

Current Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, has run up against his term limit and is running for governor, leaving open an seat that has seen three of its last nine occupants become Nevada governor or a Congress member.

As the primary campaign draws to a close, one Republican candidate has received endorsements from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and Trump, while Democratic backing has largely been split. The two primary elections have focused on debates over experience.

“There’s not going to be, I don’t think, a lot of daylight between some of the policies we are trying to implement. We’re both trying to protect Nevadans,” Cannizzaro, 43, said of her opponent in a May debate. “We’re both trying to stand up for this state. But ultimately at the end of the day, the job of the attorney general is a legal job. And I think you need tangible legal experience to walk into a courtroom, to fight the Trump administration when it comes to those cases, to hold corporations accountable, to fight for consumer protection.”

Cannizzaro and Conine, 44, have both vowed to largely oppose the Trump administration if elected, which would follow a series of lawsuits brought against the administration by Ford.

Cannizzaro has focused on her support of Planned Parenthood and said she would use every tool at her disposal in defense of reproductive rights. She also said she would work to protect voting and civil rights as attorney general. Conine narrowed in on workers’ rights, government corruption, prediction markets and defense of small businesses.

Both Democrats have legal experience: Cannizzaro as a former deputy district attorney at the Clark County District Attorney’s Office and Conine as a business attorney who ran his own practice.

“There are some pretty big differences when it comes to experience. This is an executive branch job,” Conine said during the May debate. Referring to his time as treasurer, he said, “And for the last seven-and-a-half years … I’ve been in an executive branch job, managing and leading people. When it really comes down to it, this is a job about how you can lead and motivate people – how you can make sure that your staff have the things they need to be successful.”

Conine has raised the most in the attorney general election, more than doubling Cannizzaro’s campaign funds at $2.65 million through March, to her roughly $986,000. And $1.86 million of Conine’s campaign funds came through his political action committee, Let’s Get to Work Nevada, which included a $1 million contribution by cryptocurrency millionaire and Blockchains CEO Jeffrey Berns.

Cannizzaro’s campaign funds included $10,000 from gaming company Caesars and Nevada’s primary energy company, NV Energy.

Of the two Republican candidates, Tarkanian, 64, is the only one to hold publicly elected office. Outside of the commission, he has run for seven other public offices, winning three Republican primaries for Congress, but losing every general election for those races.

Fralick, 57, has only previously run for an election to the state board of education in 2012. Her campaign has highlighted her work as legal counsel for several Nevada departments, and chair for the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board. Despite the lack of public office, Fralick has received endorsements from both Trump and Gov. Joe Lombardo.

“We need to get me elected so I can work in that office and focus on Nevada,” Fralick said at a Republican debate in April. She added later about Ford, “The current person in that office has been focusing on federal issues and suing our president for way too long.”

Fralick did not respond to policy questions from The Center Square, but told members of the Carson City Republican Party in April that she supported a closed border with Mexico and would support U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as attorney general. Tarkanian has similarly said he would support ICE in Nevada.

“Our office is going to be very proactive in monitoring elections, investigating credible evidence of voter fraud and prosecuting if it’s there,” Tarkanian told members of the Carson City Republican Party in April. “We need to build trust in the election process.”

The Center Square reached out to Cannizzaro and Conine with requests for comment, but did not hear back by press time. The Secretary of State’s Office did not have contact information for Tarkanian.

Both Tarkanian and fellow Republican Fralick have highlighted their support to improve election security and voter ID laws in the state. Tarkanian has narrowed in on women’s sports by calling for bans on transgender athletes and opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. Fralick said her policies would focus more on child predators, domestic violence and increased government transparency.

Both Republican candidates had so far lagged behind their Democrats counterparts on campaign funds. Tarkanian had roughly $461,000 cash on hand, which included a $42,000 loan to himself. With roughly $165,000 cash on hand, Fralick, with support from Gov. Joe Lombardo, also received $1,000 to her campaign from U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nevada.

The two Republican candidates have battled over their support of Trump in the April Republican primary debate, where Tarkanian came under heat for a 2024 social media post on X where he said, “I hate Trump, but I’m glad he won.”

Tarkanian defended the statement by saying he defended Trump during his 2016 campaign scandal of a surfaced 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape featuring a lewd conversation about women and what Trump said he could get away with because of his high status. Trump made the comments during a conversation with host Billy Bush.

Voting centers in Nevada are open now through Friday across Nevada. Voters can also submit a mail-in ballot through the state’s universal mail-in ballot program. Polls are open on June 9 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, go to the Nevada Secretary of State’s website, nvsos.gov. Early election results will be published on the evening of June 9 at www.thecentersquare.com/nevada.