The Nevada State Senate has 21 members who serve staggered four-year terms, and Democrats currently hold a 13-8 majority over Republicans. Senator Nicole Cannizzaro of Clark County leads the majority; Senator Robin Titus of Wellington leads the Republican minority.1Nevada Legislature. Nevada State Senate Members The 13-seat Democratic majority is short of the two-thirds supermajority that would let the chamber override a veto by Republican Governor Joe Lombardo.2Nevada Legislature. Current Senate Members
The seats are drawn from Clark County (the Las Vegas area), Washoe County (the Reno area), and a set of rural districts that span multiple counties.2Nevada Legislature. Current Senate Members
Current Nevada State Senators by District
- District 1: Michelee “Shelly” Cruz-Crawford (D)
- District 2: Edgar Flores (D)
- District 3: Rochelle T. Nguyen (D)
- District 4: Dina Neal (D)
- District 5: Carrie Ann Buck (R)
- District 6: Nicole J. Cannizzaro (D), Majority Leader
- District 7: Roberta Lange (D), Assistant Majority Leader
- District 8: Marilyn Dondero Loop (D), President pro Tempore
- District 9: Melanie Scheible (D), Chief Majority Whip
- District 10: Fabian Doñate (D), Deputy Majority Whip
- District 11: Lori Rogich (R)
- District 12: Julie Pazina (D)
- District 13: Skip Daly (D), Deputy Majority Whip
- District 14: Ira Hansen (R)
- District 15: Angela D. Taylor (D)
- District 16: Lisa Krasner (R), Minority Whip
- District 17: Robin L. Titus (R), Minority Leader
- District 18: John C. Steinbeck (R)
- District 19: John Ellison (R)
- District 20: Jeff Stone (R), Assistant Minority Leader
- District 21: James Ohrenschall (D)
Senate Leadership
Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro
Nicole Cannizzaro has represented Senate District 6 in Clark County since 2016 and has held the Majority Leader post since March 2019, becoming the first woman to lead the chamber.3U.S. House of Representatives. Biography of Nicole Cannizzaro She spent eleven years as a prosecutor in the Clark County District Attorney’s Office, rising to Chief Deputy in the Gang Unit before joining the Senate. She was born and raised in Las Vegas and holds degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno and UNLV’s Boyd School of Law.4Nevada Legislature. Senator Nicole J. Cannizzaro
Minority Leader Robin Titus
Robin Titus, a family practice physician from Wellington, was named Senate Minority Leader in January 2024 after her predecessor, Heidi Seevers Gansert, stepped down.5Nevada Appeal. Titus Named Nevada Senate Minority Leader District 17 is a sprawling rural seat covering Churchill, Douglas, Esmeralda, Lyon, Mineral, and part of Nye County. Titus served four terms in the Assembly before winning her Senate seat in 2022 and has served as Lyon County Health Officer since 1984.6Nevada Legislature. Senator Robin L. Titus
Titus has kept a high profile as the opposition voice. In July 2025, she filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a 2021 law creating Nevada’s state-managed public health insurance option, and she publicly criticized Democrats during the 2025 session for reducing committee membership, calling it a “constitutional crisis.”7The Nevada Independent. Robin Titus
How the Current Majority Was Shaped
Ten of the 21 seats were on the ballot in 2024, and the results largely preserved the status quo. Incumbents held in Districts 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The one party change of the cycle came in District 11, where Republican Lori Rogich unseated Democratic incumbent Dallas Harris by 1.42 percentage points.8Nevada Secretary of State. 2024 General Election Results – State Senate Rogich, an attorney and political newcomer, was recruited by Governor Lombardo to help protect his veto power by keeping Democrats short of a supermajority. The Culinary Union broke with its usual pattern and endorsed her over Harris, citing Harris’s votes against union priorities.9Nevada Current. Average Nevadan Defending State Senate Seat From Republican With Potent Name Recognition
In District 15 in Washoe County, Democrat Angela Taylor, a former school board member and one-term Assemblywoman, won with about 55% of the vote.10The Nevada Independent. On the Record: Senate District 15 Candidates
Terms, Elections, and the Next Cycle
Senators serve four-year terms on a staggered schedule, so roughly half the chamber is on the ballot every two years. Eleven of the 21 seats will be up in 2026, with the candidate filing period running from March 2 to March 13, 2026.11National Conference of State Legislatures. 2026 Legislative Races by State and Chamber12Nevada Secretary of State. Filing for Non-Judicial Office
Nevada voters approved term limits by constitutional amendment in 1994 and 1996, capping service in a single office at 12 years. Legal disputes have continued around edge cases, including whether extended terms tied to the 2019 shift of municipal elections to even-numbered years count toward the limit.13The Nevada Independent. Nevada Passed Term Limits 30 Years Ago. Why Are There Still Questions on Who’s Affected?
The current district lines come from Senate Bill 1, signed by Governor Steve Sisolak during a November 2021 special session. The maps used 2020 Census data, kept the chamber at 21 seats, and took effect for filing purposes on January 1, 2022.14Nevada Legislature. 2021 Redistricting
How Vacancies Are Filled
Nevada does not hold special elections for legislative vacancies. Under NRS 218A.260, the county commission (or commissions, in a multi-county district) appoints a replacement. The appointee must belong to the same political party as the departing senator and must have lived in the district for at least 30 days. In a multi-county district, each county’s commission reviews nominees separately, then the commissions meet jointly and vote weighted by each county’s share of the district’s population. If every nominee is rejected, the commissions request a new list from the relevant party leader in the Senate.15Nevada Legislature. NRS 218A – Legislature Generally
One exception: if an election is already scheduled between the vacancy and the next legislative session, the seat can stay empty until voters fill it, unless a special session is called in the meantime.16The Nevada Independent. How Legislative and Commission Vacancies Are Filled
Compensation
Nevada legislators are among the lowest-paid in the country. The state constitution caps pay at the first 60 days of a legislative session, and as of early 2025 the annual figure came to roughly $12,400, based on a daily rate of about $206.17The Nevada Independent. Lawmaker Seeks Independent Commission to Tackle Elected Official Salary Decisions The Legislature itself meets only every two years; the 83rd Session ran from February 3 to June 3, 2025, hitting the constitutional 120-day limit.18Nevada Legislature. Legislative Calendar