Where do Nevada attorney general candidates stand on the issues?

The open race for Nevada attorney general is one of the closest watched elections this cycle — and it pits a longtime prosecutor and state senator against a lawyer who has never held elected office.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas), a former Clark County prosecutor, is squaring off against Adriana Guzmán Fralick (R), a lawyer who's held numerous positions in state and local government and runs a law firm in Reno. Both won contested primaries.

The Indy asked both candidates where they stand on key issues in the race, ranging from the prioritization of Medicaid fraud to lawsuits against the Trump administration. Click on the links below to scroll to a specific section.

Medicaid fraud

Lawsuits against Trump administration

Views of the Trump admin

Felony theft threshold

Immigration policies

Corporate price fixing

Fake electors

Government transparency

Big tech lawsuits

Should a greater priority be placed on the unit within the attorney general's office dedicated to Medicaid fraud?

Cannizzaro: Yes. She said she would submit a budget request to bolster the unit's resources. The unit employs 20 people and has an annual budget of around $4 million.

Guzmán Fralick: Yes. She referred to information from the Nevada Health Authority that 60 percent of fraud referrals from Nevada Medicaid were not accepted by the attorney general's office for prosecution. She said she didn't know if this was a staff or leadership issue, but that if elected, "we'll take steps to correct" it.

Do you support Nevada's lawsuits against the Trump administration?

Cannizzaro: Yes. She said the Trump administration has engaged in "unprecedented abuses of federal power." Asked whether there were any she would not have pursued, she did not give a clear yes or no answer. She also was open to legally challenging the recently announced cuts to Nevada's allocation of the Colorado River — something that water leaders have said is a last resort.

Guzmán Fralick: She did not give a clear yes or no answer. She said some were necessary, but that the majority were "politically driven." Asked whether there were any she would also have pursued, she did not answer but also said she would support a lawsuit over the Colorado River cuts. 

Do you support the Trump administration?

Cannizzaro: No. She said she would grade his tenure an "F," specifically highlighting the rising cost of gas and cuts to Medicaid.

Guzmán Fralick: Yes. She said Trump, who has endorsed her, has done a "really good job," specifically highlighting the no taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security policies that were part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Asked about other elements of that bill, which also cut food stamp spending and imposed stricter work requirements to receive the food benefits, Guzmán Fralick defended the work requirements and said she is "focused on the positive" parts of the bill.

Should the state's existing felony theft threshold be lowered?

Cannizzaro: She did not give a clear yes or no answer. Cannizzaro supported the 2019 bill to increase the dollar amount to make theft a felony from $650 to $1,200. Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) crime bill last year — proposed with Cannizzaro as Senate majority leader — also sought to lower this amount to $750, but this did not make it into the final version. Asked whether this indicates she is against the measure, Cannizzaro instead touted the bill's crackdown on "smash-and-grab" burglaries. She also noted that "public safety is a constantly changing series of challenges."

Guzmán Fralick: Yes. She said the 2019 legislation to increase the felony theft threshold "was a big mistake."

Do you support Attorney General Aaron Ford's model immigration policies?

Cannizzaro: She did not give a clear yes or no answer. As attorney general, she said her focus would be meeting with local law enforcement and providing guidance on what is required under the U.S. Constitution and state law.

Guzmán Fralick: No. She said she would rescind the policies because they do not align with an agreement between Lombardo's office and the Department of Justice last year. She also said local law enforcement officers assisting with federal immigration efforts are "trying to get criminals off the streets" and that she was unaware of cases where ICE arrested non-criminals in Nevada. As of mid-March, 12 percent of people arrested by ICE in Nevada under Trump had no criminal record, while 41 percent had a criminal conviction, an Indy analysis found.

Do you support prior efforts by the attorney general's office to make price fixing of essential goods illegal?

Cannizzaro: Yes. She stood by her vote in support of Ford's 2025 bill to criminalize price fixing of essential goods, which Lombardo vetoed.

Guzmán Fralick: No. She said the legislation would have created "vague mandates" and "caused a lot of issues with businesses." She thinks that the existing consumer protection bureau in the office is sufficient to go after people in this space. 

Would you continue the prosecution of Nevada's "fake electors"?

Cannizzaro: She did not give a clear yes or no answer. Before deciding how to proceed, she said she would need to look at state prosecutors' case files and internal legal opinions. She added that she thinks existing Nevada laws "are absolutely sufficient for prosecution" of these schemes and called Lombardo's vetoes of bills to specifically criminalize them "shameful." 

Guzmán Fralick: No. She said she would request a dismissal of the case, which she called a "huge waste to taxpayer money and judicial resources."

What policy changes would you propose to improve government transparency?

Cannizzaro: She said she would support a dispute resolution process so that government agencies can engage with public records requesters outside of litigation. Asked about the fact that the Legislature has not taken up proposals to make it subject to the Open Meeting Law — which the attorney general's office oversees — Cannizzaro said it makes less sense to enact because the part-time Legislature meets every other year.

Guzmán Fralick: She said she would not let her office take years to respond to a public records request — Ford's office took months to respond to a request for a copy of his calendar — and that she is open to changing standard operating procedures for responding to these requests if needed.

Do you support Nevada's lawsuits against big tech companies, such as Kik and Snap, for endangering children?

Cannizzaro: Yes. She said Ford has been "proactive" in this space, which is "something that I would absolutely continue."

Guzmán Fralick: Yes. She credited Ford for these lawsuits, which she called "nonpolitical."