Republican Rebecca Edgeworth faces Democrat Sharifa Wahab in one of the races that will determine whether Democrats retain a two-thirds supermajority in the Nevada Assembly.
In nonpartisan-rich Assembly District 35, Republican candidate Rebecca Edgeworth has significantly outraised her Democratic opponent Sharifa Wahab in the race for a long-held blue seat Republicans are trying to flip.
Edgeworth, a doctor and the medical director for Touro University, and Wahab, who runs a senior health care business, are vying for the seat after Democratic Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow said she wouldn’t seek re-election.
Gorelow’s announcement not to run again came after the Gov. Joe Lombardo-aligned Better Nevada PAC publicly attacked her for taking a job as director of a disability advocacy nonprofit months after it received $250,000 in funding through a bill she voted on.
Gorelow was elected in 2018 to AD 35, located in the Southwest Las Vegas valley. Other than the red wave of 2014, the seat has long been Democratic-held.
The Better Nevada PAC is backing Edgeworth to flip the seat in an effort to eat into the Democratic supermajority in the Assembly, which Lombardo has prioritized breaking in the upcoming election. Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the Assembly and are one seat shy of holding a supermajority in the Senate.
There is a Democratic edge in AD 35 with 15,021 active registered voters compared to 14,066 active registered Republican voters. The largest voting demographic in the district are nonpartisans with 18,619 active voters.
Campaign finance reports through the first six months of the year show Edgeworth had raised $162,000 while Wahab raised $27,000.
In addition to Lombardo, Edgeworth is endorsed by the Clark County Education Association, the Nevada Mining Association and several law enforcement groups. Wahab is endorsed by AFL-CIO of Nevada, AFSCME Local 4041, the Nevada State Education Association, the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada Action and Make the Road Action Nevada.
Edgeworth declined numerous requests for an interview and only agreed to answer questions submitted via email.
She wrote that the governor’s veto power “plays a significant role in my campaign” arguing it was a needed tool “in ensuring balanced governance.”
“I believe it is essential to maintain a system of checks and balances, especially when it comes to legislation that may have unintended consequences for our community,” she said. “In our polling, and more importantly, when I am speaking to my constituents at their doors, they reiterate this. Nevadans want balance in government.”
Health care priorities
Wahab immigrated to the United States from Afghanistan 30 years ago, where she worked as a dentist.
She said her experience dealing with food insecurity and child care issues, including having to beg friends to watch her three kids when she couldn’t afford child care, shaped her decisions to run.
“When you’ve been through certain situations, you know what’s going on,” she said. “You don’t want anybody to go through what I’ve gone through. I want to uplift the underserved and make sure nobody in need is left behind.”
Edgeworth was previously a medical director for Volunteers in Medicine in Southern Nevada, according to her website. The organization provides free medical care for underserved communities.
Both Edgeworth and Wahab said if elected they would like to work on issues around expanding access to health care.
“I’m seeing so much hurt from seniors and sometimes they have to take money used for rent to pay for prescriptions,” Wahab said. “Some prescriptions are really costly but they have to have it.”
While she didn’t name any specific proposals, she said would support legislation to lower prescription drug costs and expand funding and support for mental health services.
In an email, Edgeworth said she wanted to work on policies to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates, decrease administrative burden on physicians, and expand Graduate Medical Education (GME) programs to help address the physician shortage.
Lombardo vetoed several bills last session that sought to address access to health care including legislation that looked at coverage for children and pregnant women regardless of immigration status and a bill to tackle prescription drug prices.
In her emailed reply to questions, Edgeworth did not directly address whether she supported the governor’s vetoes of health care legislation.“I believe that the current programs in place do provide essential access to quality healthcare for children and communities in need,” she said. “I am always open to reviewing data or evidence that suggests otherwise.”