Nevada Treasurer Zach Conine wins a second term

Nevada State Treasurer Zach Conine declared victory Friday in his reelection bid against his Republican challenger, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore.

Conine, a Democrat, issued a statement after the Nevada Independent named him the winner.

“Over the last four years, I’ve made a point to work across the aisle to keep our state on solid financial ground, while also helping workers and families make it through the most challenging economic times in our history,” Conine said in the statement. “I am humbled that Nevadans asked me to continue as their treasurer.”

As in many states, races on all levels were heated up by partisan politics.

Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak lost to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, a Republican.

Sisolak, who in 2018 was the first Democrat elected governor in two decades, was the 13th governor in the state’s history to lose a bid for re-election, and the first Democrat to lose a gubernatorial re-election bid since 1967, according to the Nevada Independent.

Sisolak conceded the race Friday evening, saying he believes in the state’s election system and honoring the will of voters.

As of Monday morning, results from the Secretary of State show Conine with 47.69% of the vote and a lead of 16,481 over Fiore, who had 46.03% of the vote. The two other candidates each captured less than 2% of the vote.

“I plan to keep being the most effective state treasurer that Nevada has ever seen,” Conine said. “Let’s get to work.”

Trump’s endorsement of Fiore failed to sway voters in the population centers of Nevada, largely blue Washoe and Clark counties, which pulled the lever sending Conine to a second term as the state’s chief financial officer.

During his tenure, Conine faced criticism from Republican voters and Fiore after he divested from companies that manufacture or sell assault-style weapons.

Conine received wide bipartisan support for his performance as state treasurer over the past four years, including endorsements from some Republicans, including former U.S. Sen. Dean Heller.

Under Conine, Nevada has received and maintained its highest credit rating in history. Nevada is rated AA-plus by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings, while Moody’s Investors Service has assigned a Aa1 issuer rating.

Nevada, dependent on tourism and gaming, was hard hit by pandemic closures, but quickly rebounded.

In September 2021, Fitch cited the state’s conservative liability position, strong revenue and expenditure frameworks, and historically responsive financial practices, as well as its success in managing rapid population growth and development for its AA-plus rating when it revised the state’s outlook to stable from negative.

Fitch followed Moody’s, which had revised the state’s outlook to stable from negative in July citing a rebounding domestic tourism industry, which benefited Nevada and led to improved performance of sales and gaming taxes, the state’s two largest sources of revenue.

Fiore challenged Conine after months of marketing herself as a gubernatorial candidate. She never filed to run for governor.