Is one of Nevada's longest-serving lawmakers at risk of a primary upset?

One of Nevada's longest-serving lawmakers is facing an unexpected primary from a political newcomer and former field director for the state Senate Democratic Caucus.

State Sen. James Ohrenschall, 53, is fending off a challenge from 29-year-old Junior Romero, who has taken more centrist positions on homelessness and public safety. During a Saturday canvassing event, Ohrenschall went around quietly greeting attendees and shaking their hands. He urged volunteers to take a rest from canvassing if they got tired and to "not put your health at risk" as temperatures hit the mid-90s.

"I appreciate everybody trying to help me. Thank you so much for helping me," he said. 

First elected to the Assembly in 2006, the 53-year-old Ohrenschall served for six regular sessions before being elected to Senate District 21 in 2018, representing a district that encompasses parts of East Las Vegas and Henderson, where he's served ever since. Ohrenschall, who also works as a juvenile public defender, easily defeated a primary challenger in 2022. Winning another term in 2026 would be his last in the state Senate because of term limits. 

He is the father of three children and his wife, Riana Durrett, is a member of Nevada's Cannabis Compliance Board.

Ohrenschall, one of the most progressive legislators in the state, is known as a staunch advocate for the LGBTQ community — he sponsored a bill creating a shield law for providers of gender-affirming care — and spearheaded unsuccessful legislation to abolish the death penalty. He's also won multiple awards for his work in the autism space, including ensuring insurance coverage of behavioral therapy, and he said he hopes to continue that advocacy in his last term.  

Romero recently graduated law school from Seton Hall University, a Catholic school in New Jersey. He previously worked for Clark County Commissioner William McCurdy and was a legal intern for the U.S District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Romero's parents immigrated from Mexico before he was born and moved to the Las Vegas area about 10 years ago from California. His parents, he said, "obtained the American dream;" His mom used to be a janitor at a hospital before attending nursing school, while his father is a cook at the New York-NewYork casino resort. It was his mother's education that inspired Romero to go back to school. 

Romero said that more than half of the district identifies as Hispanic or Latino and the district's representative should be reflective of that demographic profile.  Each of his flyers, he said, are in Spanish and English, while his ads also have Spanish subtitles.

"There's not one Hispanic legislator representing the area," Romero said. "One of the onuses was just making sure that this district had real representation, someone that speaks the language of a good chunk of the voters."

But winning the race could be a heavy lift for Romero, who has yet to secure the endorsements of any major groups. 

Ohrenschall, meanwhile, has the backing of nearly all major state unions, including the politically powerful AFL-CIO and Clark County Education Association, and has easily won his last handful of elections. He has a massive fundraising advantage over Romero, raising about $78,300 so far this year. Romero, in comparison, has raised about $8,700, with more than half of the donations coming from money he gave his campaign. 

At a canvassing event with Ohrenschall this weekend, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) — who is making a bid for attorney general — called him "a fighter for working families." 

"He's just an incredibly kind person," Cannizzaro said, flocked by workers from the Southern Nevada Building Trades and Teamsters unions. "He always comes to the Senate with a sense of how can we make life better for people."

Ohrenschall's name recognition in the district stretches back decades, as his mother, Genie Ohrenschall, held an Assembly seat for 12 years starting in the mid-1990s before her son took her place. She's been described as a "pioneer" in Nevada's legal space as the 28th woman ever admitted to the Nevada Bar. 

Ohrenschall credited his mom for inspiring his political career, recalling spending time in the Legislature when he was younger and going up to the state conventions in Elko. 

"I really got to love seeing her work on policy," Ohrenschall told The Indy. "It's something I always wanted to work on."

Although Romero has not secured any endorsements, he has knocked about 4,000 doors so far in his district and has launched social media ad campaigns against Ohrenschall, targeting the senator for opposing a ban on homeless encampments.

"I think we're gonna have a surprise on Election Day," Romero told The Indy. 

About 38 percent of voters in the district are registered as nonpartisan and 35 percent are registered Democrats. A remaining 21 percent identifies as Republican. 

Whoever wins the primary is set to face off against Republican Al Rojas in the fall general election, but the Democrat is expected to prevail because of the district's partisan lean.  

On the issues

Criminal justice

Ohrenschall was one of two senators who voted against Gov. Joe Lombardo's sweeping crime bill last fall. The bill increased penalties for people who participated in "smash-and-grab" burglaries and greenlit the establishment of a speciality court that banned people from the Strip. 

When asked about his vote, Ohrenschall told The Indy that he doesn't believe that increased penalties deter crime. 

"What I've seen to be effective is services to clients, whether it's therapeutic court programs, where people can get services like the drug court program, like mental health court, like the day court program for kids on the autism spectrum," Ohrenschall said. 

Romero said that he "liked a lot" of what was in the Republican governor's crime bill, especially the increased penalties on retail theft, a provision to crackdown on DUI drivers and an expanded definition of felony domestic violence.

"James Ohrenschall voted against all this," Romero said. 

Outside of the crime bill, Romero said that he is interested in providing stipends for law enforcement officers to live in neighborhoods such as the Eastside, with the hope that it could potentially deter crime, and boost funding for the Nevada State Police, which is facing a massive staffing shortage. 

Immigration 

Romero, who used to work as a legal intern for the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New Jersey, said that the state needs more expansive protections for immigrants, including a ban on immigration officials wearing face coverings and a state law restricting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from being able to use local and state government property. 

Romero criticized Ohrenschall for voting against Lombardo's crime bill, which included some of the most robust immigration protections to date, including banning ICE from school grounds. 

"That's not the way a Democratic representative, especially representing the Eastside, should be behaving in my book," Romero said. 

Ohrenschall has a long history of supporting immigration protections as a legislator. In 2017, Ohrenschall was one of the primary sponsors on a bill that would have restricted local law enforcement from holding people on the behalf of federal immigration authorities or creating a database specifically for immigration enforcement purposes. 

Although the 2017 bill died without a vote, Ohrenschall has since backed many major proposed immigration bills, including a proposal to limit schools' ability to share information with ICE. He also supported a proposal to expand Medicaid coverage for immigrants in emergency medical situations. 

"If you look at my record, look at my testimony, I've tried to be really hard on law enforcement agencies that cooperate with ICE," Ohrenschall said. 

Homelessness 

Both candidates described homelessness as one of the biggest challenges confronting the district and contended that more needs to be done.

During his time in the Legislature, Ohrenschall has backed major reforms to help unhoused people, including signing on as one of five primary sponsors of an unsuccessful proposal to create a "Homeless Persons' Bill of Rights." The bill received some public backlash for being overly broad and potentially legalizing camping on public sidewalks. It was supported by domestic violence advocacy groups who said it could help address the ways that domestic violence can lead to homelessness.

Although that bill died without a vote, Ohrenschall has succeeded in getting other measures passed, such as a diversion court program for homeless people who are fined or arrested. 

Still, Romero said more needs to be done to address homeless encampments in the area and also voiced support for affordable housing measures, such as rent caps, especially for seniors and veterans. 

"Folks are really getting fed up with it," Romero said.