Sen. Dina Neal (D-North Las Vegas) is recovering Wednesday after undergoing emergency heart surgery on Tuesday.

In a statement, the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus said that Neal received care at Renown Health.

“At this time, Senator Neal asks that her privacy be respected,” the statement said. “She is spending time with her family while she recovers.”

Neal, 52, was first elected in 2010 to represent Assembly District 7, and served in the role for five terms before winning her 2020 election to represent Senate District 4, the same seat held by her late father, Joe Neal, who held leadership roles during his 32-year career as a lawmaker. She easily cruised to re-election in 2024.

This session, Neal is serving as the chair of the Senate Committee on Revenue and Economic Development, and a member of the finance and government affairs committees.

Neal is a longtime North Las Vegas resident who has developed a reputation as an outspoken and passionate legislator.

In the 2023 legislative session, she led an effort to fund the relocation of residents of the Windsor Park neighborhood, a blighted area in North Las Vegas where the ground has been sinking for decades. She’s also been a critic of so-called corporate welfare policies, sponsoring bills to remove tax carve-outs for professional sports teams and limit the state’s suite of tax incentives.

Neal has feuded with other North Las Vegas city leaders, several of whom had ties to a PAC that circulated negative campaign mail accusing her of being soft on crime.

North Las Vegas officials backed a primary challenge to Neal last year, endorsing higher education Regent Laura Perkins, but Neal ultimately won more than 70 percent of the vote in the primary — only her second time facing a primary challenge since 2010.

She attended Chaparral High School in Las Vegas before receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern University and A&M College and her law degree from Southern University Law Center.