Democrats remain silent on Senate race as Republican candidate secures donations, endorsements • Nevada Current

The Nevada State Democratic Caucus appears to have dropped out of the race for Senate District 18.

Clark County Fire Chief John Steinbeck, the Republican nominee, will face Democrat Ronald Bilodeau, a CSN assistant professor who works in telecommunications, for the open seat in the general election.

Steinbeck was endorsed by Republican Governor Joe Lombardo a few months before his primary election.

Bilodeau said Nevada Current in an email that he has not had any conversations with the Nevada Senate Democratic caucus since his primary victory in June.

Campaign finance reports filed in July show Steinbeck raised $270,000.

Bilodeau reported no results.

THE Current emailed the Senate Democratic caucus with questions about whether they had contacted Bilodeau, whether the caucus would support him and whether there were any plans to put money into the race.

The caucus declined to comment.

Democratic-leaning unions, for their part, supported Steinbeck, the Republican.

While the AFL-CIO has overwhelmingly backed Democrats running for House and Senate seats this election cycle, Steinbeck is the only Republican to win the union’s support.

Susie Martinez, the Executive Secretary Treasurer of the AFL-CIO Nevada, said in a statement that AFL-CIO members were bipartisan and decided Steinbeck was “the best candidate for Senate District 18.”

“We have a very democratic process for selecting our candidates, with leaders from public and private sector unions conducting the interviews and inviting all candidates, regardless of political affiliation, to interview,” she said. “As a 30-year veteran firefighter, John Steinbeck comes from a working world and understands the values ​​that are important to us.”

Democrats, who currently hold a veto-proof majority in the House, are one seat away from a supermajority in the Senate.

Republican Sen. Scott Hammond previously represented SD 18, which was considered a solidly red district in previous elections.

Democrats redrew the district in 2021 to try to make it more competitive, though Republicans still hold an advantage.

SD 18 currently has 31,479 active registered Democrats, 34,544 active registered Republicans and 34,134 active registered nonpartisans, according to the most recent voter registration information.

Democrats have tried to be competitive in the district in previous election cycles.

Liz Becker, the 2020 Democratic nominee, lost to Hammond by 12 points that year.

Bilodeau won the 2020 Democratic primary but finished a distant second to Becker, who was endorsed by the Senate caucus.

In a previous interview, Steinbeck and Bilodeau both described the district as competitive, particularly with a large share of nonpartisan voters.

Before the primary electionsGreg Lademann, executive director of the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus, said in an email that “SD 18 is on our list of emerging districts and we will continue to monitor it as we approach the general election.”

Steinbeck and Bilodeau both faced three opponents in the June primary. Steinbeck received nearly 60 percent of the vote in his primary, while Bilodeau received 43 percent. Senate Democrats did not support the primary.

Along with the AFL-CIO, Steinbeck was the only Republican to receive the endorsement of SEIU 1107.

In an email, the union wrote that a “The main reason SEIU 1107 members and other union organizations supported his candidacy is that he is a fire chief and “has supported public services for our communities.”

Planned Parenthood Votes Nevada declined to endorse SD 18, the only race that did not receive support from the pro-abortion rights organization.

While Democrats made no attempt to win SD 18, they focused on flipping Senate District 15, another previously Republican-held seat that was redrawn to give Democrats an advantage.

Democratic Rep. Angie Taylor will face Republican Mike Ginsburg in that race, which could potentially give them a veto-proof majority.

Democrats also set their sights on the 5th Senate District, currently held by Republican incumbent Carrie Buck. While that district is also slightly Republican-dominated (900 more active voters), the caucus backed Democrat Jennifer Atlas in that race.