LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Cisco Aguilar, Nevada's Democratic nominee for the state's top elections post, declared victory over Republican Jim Marchant on Friday night.
Results in the statewide contest for secretary of state showed Aguilar with a lead of 14,064 votes over Marchant, with close to 95% of precincts reporting on Saturday morning.
Aguilar would be the first Latino to hold the office. He issued this statement after the Nevada Independent projected his victory:
“Nevada’s voters used their voices to protect our democracy and the fundamental right to vote. This campaign was about defending democracy for all Nevadans and I’m humbled so many Nevadans put partisanship aside and stood up for free and fair elections. We must continue to reject extremism and those who threaten our democracy.
I want to thank my family, friends, supporters, and staff for being in this fight with me.
It is the honor of my life to be Nevada’s next Secretary of State and the first Latino to serve in this role.”
Marchant, the GOP nominee, is a former state lawmaker who ran an unsuccessful campaign to unseat Rep. Steven Horsford (D-District 4) in 2020.
In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Marchant founded Conservatives for Election Integrity, a coalition intended to support secretary of state candidates who question the result of the 2020 presidential election. Marchant's website said his number one priority would be to "overhaul the fraudulent election system in Nevada," despite the current Secretary of State — a republican — only finding a handful of fraudulent votes.
As I ran this race, I stayed focused on protecting the fundamental right to vote no matter what party you belong to, and I’m honored that Nevadans stood with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
— Cisco Aguilar (@CiscoForNevada) November 12, 2022
So humbled and proud to be your next Secretary of State!!! 👊🏽👊🏽👊🏽 pic.twitter.com/UTXutAkCXC
Aguilar told KTNV if he's elected, the first legislation he would introduce would be to make it a felony to harass or intimidate election workers and volunteers. He says he's focused on protecting the fundamental right to vote, "no matter what party you belong to."
"If you want somebody who's honest, who's going to be transparent, elect me," Aguilar told KTNV anchor Justin Hinton in a previous interview. "If you want somebody who's going to continue to lie to you — that's my opponent."
Ballots remain to be counted in Clark County on Saturday. Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria told reporters he expects all ballots — with the exception of provisional ballots and those that need to be cured — will be added to the county's totals by Saturday evening.
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Editor's note — The Associated Press contributed to this report.
