Assm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas) — the chair of the Nevada Democratic Party — will run for North Las Vegas mayor in 2026 instead of seeking re-election to the Legislature.

Monroe-Moreno, who chairs the powerful Assembly budget committee and is the first Black woman serve in a leadership position in the lower house, announced her bid for the city’s open mayoral seat during a speech Saturday at a graduation ceremony for Emerge Nevada, an organization that recruits and trains Democratic women to run for public office.

In a statement to The Nevada Independent, Monroe-Moreno said representing North Las Vegas in the Assembly for the last nine years has been an honor, and she trusts her legislative colleagues to continue doing what’s best for Nevada.

“North Las Vegas holds my heart — it’s where I raised and grew my family, worked a career in law enforcement and later retired, and it’s the community that’s carried me through some of life’s toughest challenges,” she said. “I will have more to share on my mayoral run soon, but I look forward to this new challenge and everything I hope to accomplish on behalf of North Las Vegas.”

A formal launch of Monroe-Moreno’s campaign is expected to take place later this summer.

A former correctional officer, Monroe-Moreno was first elected in 2016, serving for five regular and five special sessions and, in the last session, served as speaker pro tempore — the second highest leadership position in the Assembly. In March 2023, Monroe-Moreno was elected chair of the Nevada Democratic Party.

She seeks to replace term-limited North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes-Brown, who was elected in 2022 and is the city’s first Black mayor.

Though Goynes-Brown is only in her first term as mayor, she cannot run again because it would violate Nevada’s term-limit law, which restricts elected officials to a maximum of 12 years in the same public body. 

Before becoming mayor, Goynes-Brown served as the councilwoman of North Las Vegas’ Ward 2. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled in 2014 that for most Nevada cities, city council members and mayors share the same duties and that term limits apply to both positions.

Monroe-Moreno will likely square off against North Las Vegas Councilman Scott Black, who took office in 2017 and announced a mayoral bid in May. Black is endorsed by Goynes-Brown, North Las Vegas police officers, Councilwoman Ruth G. Anderson and others on his campaign website.

The announcement leaves Monroe-Moreno’s reliably blue Assembly District 1 seat open in the 2026 election. In her 2024 re-election campaign, Monroe-Moreno defeated Republican challenger Garland Brinkley by more than 12 percentage points.