FACT BRIEFHas a nonpartisan candidate ever won a partisan race in modern Nevada history?
No.
In Nevada, state election records show that no independent candidate has ever won a partisan race dating back to at least 1962.
Notably, independent Ross Perot won 26.2 percent of the vote in Nevada in the 1992 presidential election. George H. W. Bush won the state with 37.4 percent of the vote.
Nonpartisan candidates don’t appear on primary ballots in Nevada and advance automatically to general election ballots.
As of September 2025 data, independent voters make up Nevada’s largest voting bloc at 37 percent, with Republicans coming in at 27.5 percent and Democrats at 27.8 percent.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
The Nevada Independent partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.
Sources
- Secretary of State Election Records
- Secretary of State 1992 Presidential Election Results
- Secretary of State September Voter Data
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