Moises Denis (born August 9, 1961) is an American politician serving as President ''pro tempore'' 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 pr ...

since 2016. A member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, he has represented the 2nd district in the

since 2010, covering parts of the eastern

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Statistical Area i ...

. He was previously a member of the

Nevada Assembly The Nevada Assembly is the lower house of the Nevada Legislature, the 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 terms from single-member district ...

from 2004 to 2010, representing Assembly District 28 in the same area.

Biography

Denis was born in New York City to parents who had immigrated from

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

. Denis is

Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into severa ...

. He served a mission for

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...

in Uruguay. He studied at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-d ...

. He has also served as a bishop in the LDS Church as well as in other positions. He is a cousin of United States Senator from Florida Marco Rubio. In 2019, an interview with Denis' sister stated that she was unable to afford housing and lived out of her car in the parking lot of a local church. Denis is a computer technician.

Political career

Denis served three terms in the

from 2004 to 2010, and is currently on his third term as a state senator. He has frequently run unopposed or won lopsided victories. Denis led his caucus' re-election efforts in the 2012 cycle and served as Senate Majority Leader from 2013 to 2014. In December 2011, Denis resigned from his job with the

Nevada Public Utilities Commission The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada supervises and regulates the operation and maintenance of Public utility, utility services in Nevada. The agency has two headquarters, one in Carson City, Nevada, Carson City () and one in Las Vegas, Nevada ...

following an alleged conflict between his executive and legislative roles. Denis is the first Latino person to serve as Majority Leader of the Nevada Senate (or leader of any caucus).

Electoral history

*2018 Denis was unopposed in the primary election. He defeated

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 ...

candidate Cal Border in the general election with 13,717 votes (79.50%). *2014 Denis was unopposed in the primary election. He defeated Independent American Party candidate Louis Baker in the general election with 5,683 votes (76.37%). *2010 Incumbent Senator

Maggie Carlton Maggie Carlton (born July 24, 1957) is an American politician, currently serving as a member of the Nevada Assembly. She represents District 14, which includes a portion of Las Vegas. Carlton previously served in the Nevada Senate, representing C ...

was term-limited out of Senate District 2, which overlapped with Denis' Assembly district. Denis ran to replace her and was unopposed in both the primary and

general elections 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 ( ...

. *2008 Denis was unopposed in the primary. He defeated Republican candidate Tino Mendoza in the general election with 4,664 votes (78.86%). *2006 Denis was unopposed in both the primary and general elections. *2004 After incumbent Vonne Chowning did not seek re-election in Assembly District 28, Denis won the primary with 800 votes (51.38%) against Eddie Flores and Rosa Mendoza. He then won the general election with 4,218 votes (75.51%) against Republican nominee Benjamin Bell. *2002 Denis ran in the Democratic primary for Assembly District 28, but was defeated by incumbent Assemblywoman Vonne Chowning who had 601 votes (52.72%) compared to Denis' 539 votes (47.28%).

References

External links

Campaign websiteProject Vote Smart - Assembly Member Moises 'Mo' Denis (NV)
profile *''Follow the Money'' - Mo Denis * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Denis, Mo 1961 births 21st-century American politicians Brigham Young University alumni Latter Day Saints from Nevada Latter Day Saints from New York (state) Living people Democratic Party members of the Nevada Assembly Democratic Party Nevada state senators American politicians of Cuban descent Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Nevada People from Las Vegas Politicians from Las Vegas