No 'Mamdani moment' for Nevada progressives in 2026, but some signs of hope

The left wing of the Democratic Party is ascendant nationwide, with youth voters and viral social media posts propelling victories by progressives and socialists in New York City, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

But despite its diverse, working-class population, Nevada has not yet seen similar success for its most progressive candidates. That showed in this year's primaries, with numerous left-leaning candidates — many of them running for the first time and raising far less money than their opponents — falling short in major Democratic primary races. 

Yet progressive organizers point to improved margins by longshot challengers to entrenched incumbents, and upset victories where progressives won open seats — including real estate professional Minja Yan in a Democratic primary for Clark County Commission, and software developer and Medicare For All supporter Alex Pereszlenyi in a Democratic primary for Assembly. 

Progressives say these results hint at a new way forward for the Democratic Party after its 2024 walloping. Candidates and operatives who spoke to The Indy argued that while progressives sometimes struggle to fundraise, they can make up for that disadvantage in downballot races with committed canvassing operations, bold policy solutions and personal connections with voters. 

Some of the progressives who ran in the primaries are "organizers at heart," said Laura Martin, the former executive director of Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. "They know how to run campaigns, how to win campaigns," she said.

But candidates and outside observers acknowledge it's an uphill battle — especially for progressives running against incumbents — and that they must forge bigger coalitions going forward, including by building relationships with the unions that are key to winning any race in Nevada. 

"Nevada's politics are kind of rigid," said Shaun Navarro, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). "For not just DSA but for progressives in general, it's about building up the infrastructure." 

Navarro lost in his bid against Assm. Hanadi Nadeem (D-Las Vegas), making him one of one of multiple upstart Democrats — and one of two DSA-backed candidates — who failed in their challenges to establishment candidates. Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill was trounced in the Democratic primary for governor, losing by 40 points to Attorney General Aaron Ford. Progressives seeking to oust the state's three Democratic House members also fared poorly.

While Hill doesn't identify as a progressive, she embraced policies such as universal childcare and tax reform and was endorsed by the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada. 

Former Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani, a progressive who came in second in Nevada's 2018 Democratic gubernatorial primary, said Hill didn't have enough donors or name recognition to pull off a win — but that her campaign was still worthwhile in "forcing conversations about progressive values."

"You're engaging new people that had never really participated in party politics," Giunchigliani said of Hill and other defeated candidates. "There's no lose-lose there."

Taking stock of progressive wins

Overall, left-leaning candidates did well in legislative primaries where no incumbent was running. 

Along with Pereszlenyi's victory in Assembly District 29, they won in Assembly District 1 with Alexis Esparza, a union steward and clerk in the Clark County District Attorney's office; in Assembly District 2 with Kamilah Bywaters, a special education teacher; and in Assembly District 41, with Vinny Spotleson, a teacher and former environmental activist. 

All three candidates were endorsed by PLAN. For some candidates, such as Hill and Pereszlenyi, the progressive group was one of their most high-profile endorsements, while their opponents were backed by multiple elected officials and unions.

Still, outsider progressive candidates fell short in many other downballot races. Another PLAN-endorsed candidate — flight attendant Maria Teresa Hank — lost to addiction recovery activist Ryan Hampton in the open Assembly District 9 primary. 

And two DSA members failed in their bids to unseat incumbent Democratic lawmakers. One of those candidates was Navarro, and the other was Val Thomason, who lost for the second cycle straight in her primary challenge against Assm. Venise Karris (D-Las Vegas).

Navarro said his takeaway was that it's better for DSA to focus finite resources on key races.

"I think we really only have capacity for one race," he said.

Candidates and strategists from across the Democratic Party said primary voters most often mentioned concerns about high cost of living, the Trump administration and data centers. Progressive candidates frame themselves as the best choices to meet all of these concerns, citing their desire to expand the state's safety net and hold corporations accountable.

Pereszlenyi credits his win to his strong ground game, saying his conversations with voters tended to focus more on their day-to-day struggles than his ideology.

But he did tell voters frequently about his belief that "we can't make the investments in our community without raising revenue, without making corporations pay their fair share," and about his support for universal healthcare. These values seemed to connect with voters, he said, enabling him to compensate for a huge funding disadvantage and the union ties of his more centrist Democratic opponents.

Some candidates theorized that they benefitted from pledges to not take corporate or PAC donations.

In the crowded Democratic primary for Clark County Commission District F, Yan bragged in her campaign launch video that she was "challenging the status quo" by "talking about big money's influence in politics." 

One of the candidates she defeated was human trafficking awareness advocate Minddie Lloyd, a former Republican who raised three times as much money as Yan and was endorsed by sitting Commissioner Tick Segerblom (D) and departing Commissioner Justin Jones (D). 

"I heard a lot of feedback that [voters] want to see someone new," Yan said. "Someone [who] has a plan." 

In contrast, progressive activist Christian Solomon lost his primary run for Clark County Commission District G, garnering 43 percent of the vote against Commissioner Jim Gibson (D).

Solomon told The Indy he was pleased with the support he received given that he ran against an "entrenched incumbent" first elected in 2018 and had raised a tenth of the amount Gibson did, adding that it proves voters are receptive to a change.

In federal races, progressives saw fewer signs of hope, with the incumbent or establishment pick triumphing in the state's Democratic House primaries.

Self-funding physician James Lally garnered more than twice the voting share against Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) than any of Lee's previous challengers, but still lost in a landslide. Another self-funded candidate and self-described "political outsider," millionaire Greg Kidd, echoed progressive talking points in his bid for Nevada's 2nd Congressional District but came up well short of former Assembly Majority Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Reno), who was endorsed by PLAN. Progressive challengers to Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) suffered even more lopsided defeats. 

Former Assm. Maggie Carlton (D-Las Vegas), who was a Culinary Union member before becoming one of the Legislature's more liberal members, said progressives will only succeed if they can forge stronger coalitions, particularly with labor and established politicians. 

"Open seats are easier to win than taking out an incumbent, and it's just the nature of the beast," Carlton said. "You have to learn sometimes it's best to work with the person who's already there, so you get to know what's going on, so that in the future you might be the person that steps in when the time comes."

What do Nevada's Democrats want?

This year's primaries occurred as Democrats in Nevada and nationwide ponder how to rebuild the party following the dismal results from 2024, the first time in 20 years that Nevada voted for the Republican running for president.

Liberal and moderate factions agree that the electorate's rightward lurch is a symptom of Americans' fatigue with the status quo and desire for a new form of politics. 

But they disagree on what the Democratic Party, once transformed, will look like. It's an especially pressing question in Nevada, where the establishment-affiliated "Reid Machine" still dominates party politics but was previously challenged by progressive leaders. 

Moderates say the way forward in swing states such as Nevada is by elevating centrist Democrats who focus on economic issues over immigration and social policy. 

Progressives agree about the need to focus on the economy, but disagree on the policies Democrats should push for.

The question facing progressives is whether Nevada's politically swingy voters are ready to embrace such an approach. 

Multiple studies have found that voters in Las Vegas and Nevada tend to be more moderate than voters in other big cities and swing states in the U.S., and the state's electorate is dominated by voters registered as nonpartisan. More recent research on Democratic primary voters in Nevada, by the centrist think tank Third Way, concluded that 54 percent of the state's Democrats consider themselves moderate or liberal while just 27 percent identify as progressive or socialist. 

Some of the candidates running this year have embraced anti-establishment messaging, but aren't as excited about being considered "progressive." 

Alexis Hill, the candidate for governor, said she was "so honored" to be endorsed by PLAN and other progressive groups but "[I] don't love the label, especially in a state of nonpartisans." 

In an interview with The Indy, Yan was careful not to call herself a progressive, instead saying her policies were "probably more on the progressive side of things."

"People in politics, they always look at the politicking side of things. … I think it's time for a lot of our officials to put focus on policy, and not politics," Yan said. "I think a lot of voters appreciate that."

This article was updated at 9:40a.m. on 6/26/26 to correct that Teresa Benitez-Thompson served in the Assembly and was Assembly Majority Leader.