The 2026 election cycle is already well underway. In recent months, a rash of candidates have emerged for everything from governor to congressperson to sheriff.
And while voting in the November midterm elections is still nearly 11 months away, some trends are already taking shape.
Rebecca Gill, an associate professor of political science at UNLV, said it's becoming clear that the candidates will have to find a way to connect with the growing number of voters no longer identifying as Republican or Democrat.
"We have a really big increase in non-partisan voting here," Gill said. "I think this makes it very interesting to try to get a handle on how people in Nevada are feeling by party and how these party primaries are going to turn out."
One primary sure to gain a lot of attention is for the Democratic nomination for governor. So far, two prominent Democrats have announced their intent to run for the seat: Attorney General Aaron Ford and Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill.
"People are pretty clear on who Joe Lombardo is, because he's the sitting governor," Gill said. "I think there's going to be an interesting ramp-up period where the candidates in the Democratic primary are going to have to introduce themselves or reintroduce themselves to the statewide electorate."
However, both parties may face challenges in appealing to unaligned voters in November.
Michael Schaus, a political commentator whose opinion pieces often run in The Nevada Independent, said it can be really difficult to navigate the issues that will bring non-partisans out to the polls.
"Yes, Donald Trump won the vote here, but abortion access was a key issue as well," said Schaus. "So was voter ID. I mean, you have this really kind of weird mix of issues that appeal to both the left and the right, and so it's hard for political campaigns especially to get a feel for where exactly those purple voters are."
Nevada's candidate filing deadline is March 13. The primary election is June 9, and the general election is November 3.
Guests: Rebecca Gill, associate professor of political science, UNLV; Michael Schaus, political commentator, Schaus Creative LLC
