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Nation's First Female-Majority Legislature Could Be Elected in November

Nevada voters could soon make history by electing the country’s first female-majority state legislature.

Nevada voters could soon make history by electing the country’s first female-majority state legislature.

Women, after winning a record number of primary contests last month, could make up nearly two-thirds of the statehouse by Nov. 7, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported .

“In the past, we’ve had to ask women five, six, seven times to run for office,” said Danna Lovell, director of Emerge Nevada, a Democrat-linked candidate training nonprofit based in Las Vegas. “Whereas now, they’re worried. They’re scared about what’s going on in their communities. ... I think there’s an extremely great possibility for a female majority.”

Women, based on their party registration and the partisan makeup of their districts, are favored to control 27 seats heading into the 2019 Nevada Legislature — 19 in the Assembly and eight in the Senate, a Reno Gazette Journal analysis of voter registration data shows.

Still, they have to add at least five seats — including four in highly competitive Assembly districts — to secure a 32-seat majority.

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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