LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Three school board members who voted to terminate Clark County School District Superintendent Dr. Jesus Jara in October had enough support to survive the primary election. But how will they do in November?
Trustees Danielle Ford didn’t even place first in the crowded field of District F candidates, and current board president Irene Cepeda could also place second in her District D race. Only Linda P. Cavazos held a lead after all in-person votes were counted in the primary.
If none of the candidates drop out of the top two in their races, November’s election looks like this:
- District D: Cepeda against Steven Conger, who currently holds a slim lead.
- District F: Ford against former Nevada State Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams
- District G: Cavazos against second-place finisher Greg Wieman.
The top two finishers advance to the general election in nonpartisan primary races.
Mail-in votes could still change the picture as they are counted over the next few days. Mail-in ballots must have a postmark of June 14 or earlier, and they must be received by June 18.
It’s no sure thing that the incumbents will be able to win support from voters who backed other candidates in the primary. Many of the candidates ran campaigns that hammered the school board for failing to provide leadership and keep the focus on education — one of Jara’s themes as he agreed to come back to lead the district after the board backtracked on its October vote.
It was Cepeda’s reversal — first voting to fire Jara and then changing her vote to support him — that ended in Jara’s decision to come back to the district.
Those voters could easily go to the challengers.
But name recognition is a powerful factor in a general election when voters often go to the polls because of a small number of races they care about the most — and they vote for names they know in the other races.