Elizabeth Nicole Halseth (née Schworak; born February 5, 1983) is an American politician. She was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the previ ...

from November 2010 until February 2012. Halseth is the youngest woman in Nevada to ever have been elected to the

Nevada Legislature The Nevada Legislature is a bicameral body, consisting of the lower house, the Assembly, with 42 members, and the upper house, the Senate, with 21. With a total of 63 seats, the Legislature is the third-smallest bicameral state legislature in ...

. She unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the Nevada Senate in 2018.

Early life and education

Elizabeth Nicole Schworak was born in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

in 1983, where she was raised by her mother Candy. She graduated from North Salem High School in Salem, Oregon in 2001. She moved to Nevada in 2006. She earned her psychology degree from Corban University in 2014.

Career

Halseth began her political career by running for the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Nevada, the upper house being the Nevada Senate. The body consists of 42 members, elected to two-year ...

. However, at the last minute, she decided to shift her campaign goals on the Nevada Senate. Her successful campaign has been called "unlikely." During the primary campaign, Halseth, the more conservative candidate, defeated Dennis Nolan. Halseth released a message left by Nolan on the voicemail of Jaime Anderson Lawes, previous wife of Gordon Lawes, and sister of a sixteen-year-old girl he (Lawes) was accused of raping. Gordon Lawes had been sentenced to a ten-year prison sentence, and Nolan left the message to say it would be "very financially beneficial" if Jaime would "tell the truth" about the rape. The release of this message has been blamed for the failure of Nolan's campaign, and cited as a contributing factor to Halseth's success. She then went on to defeat Benny Yerushalmi, her millionaire opponent in the

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. While a Senator, Halseth was a member of the Senate Revenue Committee, Senate Commerce, Labor and Energy Committee, and the Senate Transportation Committee. Halseth announced her resignation from office on February 17, 2012, citing issues with balancing performance of her senatorial duties with being a single mother. She also wrote in her letter of resignation that she will likely seek employment outside of Nevada due to issues with finding employment. Her resignation followed criticism that she was missing meetings and not returning telephone calls. Her then-husband Daniel Halseth was later indicted on two felony counts: one of coercion and one of battery; he was also indicted on one misdemeanor count of open and gross lewdness. She unsuccessfully re-ran for a seat in the Nevada Senate in 2018.

Personal life

In May 2012 after her February resignation from the Senate, Halseth appeared in ''Maxim'''s "Hot 100" photo contest appearing in a bikini. Halseth did not win the "Hot 100" contest but was later profiled by Maxim in October 2012 with an additional photoshoot. Halseth married Daniel Halseth on March 16, 2001. In October 2011, Daniel was arrested for gross and lewd behavior and later filed divorce against her in November. In April 2021, Halseths's daughter, Sierra, and her boyfriend, Aaron Guerrero, were arrested in

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

for Elizabeth Halseth's ex-husband's murder in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. Daniel Halseth's body was dismembered and burned during the killing. Both were sentenced to 22 years to life in prison in October 20, 2022 after pleading guilty on May 25, 2022.

References

External links

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Nevada legislative biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halseth, Elizabeth Republican Party Nevada state senators 1983 births Living people Politicians from Portland, Oregon Women state legislators in Nevada North Salem High School (Salem, Oregon) alumni Corban University alumni 21st-century American women