Berkley, Seaman advance to November 5 Las Vegas mayoral election runoff

Thirteen candidates ran in the nonpartisan primary for Las Vegas mayor on June 11, 2024. Shelley Berkley and Victoria Seaman were the top two vote-getters, and they advanced to a general election scheduled for November 5, 2024, because no candidate received a majority of the vote.

Throughout the race, Berkley, Seaman, and Cedric Crear led in polling, media coverage, and fundraising.

According to the Nevada Independent‘s Carly Sauvageau and Eric Neugeboren, “Though the position is nonpartisan, the race between Seaman and Berkley is likely to have strong partisan undertones. Seaman, a former Republican assemblywoman, openly appealed to Republican voters during the primary and said she plans to vote for former President Donald Trump in this year’s presidential election. Berkley, a lifelong Democrat, said she will vote to re-elect President Joe Biden.”

Incumbent Carolyn Goodman, who was first elected in 2011, was term-limited. Goodman’s husband, Oscar, served as Las Vegas mayor from 1999 to 2011. Goodman was one of eight mayors in the 100 largest cities by population registered as nonpartisan or independent.

The mayor sits on the Las Vegas City Council and is the only member elected at-large. The mayor presides over council meetings and official city ceremonies. KTNV Channel 13 Senior Reporter Steve Sebelius said, “The importance [is in] this bully pulpit role of the mayor.”

Berkeley represented Nevada’s 1st Congressional District as a Democrat from 1999 to 2013. Before that, she practiced law and served in the Nevada Assembly from 1982 to 1984. Berkeley said, “[Las Vegas] is the fastest growing community in the United States, and it certainly was when I was in Congress representing Las Vegas. So many of the issues that I concentrated on when I was in Congress are still important issues today.” Berkeley said her campaign was focused on affordable housing, homelessness, and small businesses.

At the time of the election, Crear had represented Ward 5 on the Las Vegas City Council since 2018. Before that, he served as a Las Vegas Planning Commissioner and was a member of the Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents. Crear said, “The number one issue in our city is public safety. We have to continue to keep our community safe. I work with three area commands now — Bolden Area Command, Downtown Area Command, Northwest Area Command — and we have to ensure our residents have a sound quality of life, that our neighborhoods are safe, and people feel comfortable going out of their homes and participating in our community.” Crear said he was also running on homelessness and workforce development.

At the time of the election, Seaman had represented Ward 2 on the Las Vegas City Council since 2019. From 2014 to 2016, Seaman served as a Republican in the Nevada Assembly, representing District 34. Seaman said, “I have a keen ability to recognize and face head-on complicated issues that impact our residents. It is for this reason and my commitment for this city that I live in — and the support of my family — that I’m announcing my campaign for mayor of Las Vegas.” Seaman’s top issues included public safety, infrastructure, and supporting local businesses.

Kola Akingbade, Tera Anderson, Lynn Baird, Dan Chapman, Irina Hansen, Kara Jenkins, Eric Medlin, Donna Miller, Michael Pacino, Deb Peck, and William Walls also ran in the election. Baird and Jenkins completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey. Click here to read their responses.

The city of Las Vegas does not include the Strip, which is in an unincorporated part of Clark County. Clark County and Las Vegas share a police department and other municipal services.

Thirty-four of the 100 largest cities are holding mayoral elections in 2024. Heading into the year, 18 of those cities had a Democratic mayor, meaning 29% of the 63 Democratic-led cities are holding mayoral elections. Eleven cities holding elections had a Republican mayor at the start of the year, meaning 42% of the 26 Republican-led cities are holding elections. The remaining eight top-100 cities holding elections in 2024 started the year with independent or nonpartisan mayors.