Nevada, one of the last states to post initial ballot results last night, is one of eight states without final numbers posted for the 2020 general election. With about 85% counted and posted, the Silver State joins other key states in determining whether President Donald Trump will remain in office. Experts say, as of press time today, it could go either way.
Nevada and Arizona are presumed to lean Democratic — the Associated Press called Biden the winner in Arizona — and other key states, such as Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, will ultimately help determine whether former Vice President Joe Biden ousts Trump.
However, with about 85% of votes counted in Nevada, the difference between Trump and Biden is less than 1% with Biden holding a narrow lead.
That’s a similar situation elsewhere. Biden has narrow leads in three “blue wall” states, according to the New York Times. Biden led in electoral college votes all night, but Trump edged up to now being a race most are saying is still undetermined.
Local results
Locally, some races appear to have victors, but final results will not be determined by the Washoe County Registrar of Voters until November 13, 2020 — more than a week away. Final results will be reported on Nov. 16, following the canvass of the votes.
“That means that it’s likely you may not see a clear winner on election night as may have been the case in past elections,” Registrar Deanna Spikula said late Tuesday.
Alexis Hill appears to have trounced incumbent Washoe County Commissioner Marsha Berkbigler with, to date, about 5,000 more votes than Berkbigler.
Incumbent Commissioner Vaughn Hartung appears to retain his seat with nearly 60% of votes versus his challenger.
Embattled School Board Candidate Scott Kelley appears to have succumbed to his challenger, school district critic Jeff Church, after court filings revealed Kelley to have operated fake accounts to troll people on social media. Church leads Kelley with nearly 60% of the votes.
Incumbent Trustee Angela Taylor has a sound lead over her challenger, and the at-large trustee seat to date favors Diane Nicolet with 54% versus Craig Wesner’s 46%.
Reno City Council races show incumbents Oscar Delgado, Devon Reese and Neoma Jardon with solid leads over their challengers, but the race between incumbent Jenny Brekhus and JD Drakulich is neck and neck — less than 1% off. This race could be determined by ballots still being tallied by the registrar’s office.
Both Sparks City Council incumbents, Donald Abbot and Paul Anderson, are showing leads over their challengers.
The local race for the Nevada Board of Regents seat shows Joseph Arrascada leading over opponent Kevin Melcher.
Again, these numbers can change as ballots continue to be counted.
State races
Nevada Senate challenger Wendy Jauregui-Jackins (D) is trailing incumbent Heidi Gansert (R) by about 2,500 votes, another tight race. Lisa Krasner (R) has a nearly 20-point lead over her challenger.
Assemblymember Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D) is also holding a nearly 20-point lead over her challenger. Newcomer Natha Anderson (D) is showing a 15% lead over her opponent. Skip Daly (D) and Jill Dickman (R) are neck-and-neck, with about a 1,300 votes difference. Dickman is in the lead.
Incumbent Alexis Hansen (R) has a huge edge over her challenger. PK O’Neill (R) also has a solid lead over his challenger.
Ballot questions
Question 1, which seeks to remove the Nevada Board of Regents from the state constitution, is close: There’s a 2-point difference between those voting in favor and those voting against, amounting to nearly 32,000 votes against the measure.
All other ballot questions to date are showing yes votes with solid percentages.
Get results from the sources
Washoe County: https://gis.washoecounty.us/agolHost?id=ElecGEN2020
State of Nevada: https://silverstateelection.nv.gov/
