The 2016 United States Senate election in Nevada was held November 8, 2016 to elect a member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

to represent the State of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, concurrently with the

2016 U.S. presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket of former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and ...

, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states and

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and various

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. The state primary election was held June 14, 2016. Incumbent Democratic Senator

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...

, the

Senate Minority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

and former

Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...

, initially said he would seek re-election to a sixth term, but announced on March 26, 2015, that he would retire instead. Democratic former State Attorney General

Catherine Cortez Masto Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from Nevada, a seat she has held since 2017. A member of the Democratic Pa ...

defeated Republican U.S. Representative

Joe Heck Joseph John Heck (born October 30, 1961) is an American politician, physician, and retired United States Army Major general who served as the United States representative for Nevada's 3rd congressional district from 2011 to 2017. Heck is a boa ...

in the general election on November 8, 2016. Heck won sixteen of the state's seventeen

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

; however, since Cortez Masto won

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

, which comprises nearly three-quarters of the state's population, she defeated Heck statewide by almost 27,000 votes, and became the first female and first Latina senator in Nevada's history. As of 2025, this would be the last time

Washoe County Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statis ...

voted for a Republican Senate candidate.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

, former

Nevada Attorney General The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal mat ...

* Bobby Mahendra * Liddo Susan O'Briant, instructional assistant * Allen Rheinhart,

Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...

activist and candidate for governor in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

Withdrew

, incumbent U.S. senator

Declined

Shelley Berkley Shelley Berkley (née Rochelle Levine; born January 20, 1951) is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who has served as Mayor of Las Vegas, mayor of Las Vegas since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

, former U.S. representative and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2012 *

Lucy Flores Lucy Flores (born October 24, 1979) is an American lawyer and former politician. A member of the Democratic Party, she was a member of the Nevada State Assembly representing the 28th district in the eastern Las Vegas Valley from 2010 to 2014. ...

, former state assemblywoman and nominee for lieutenant governor in

(lost primary for NV-04) *

Steven Horsford Steven Alexzander Horsford (born April 29, 1973) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 4th congressional district since 2019, previously holding the position from 2013 to 2015. He also served ...

, former U.S. representative *

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), Engli ...

, Mayor of

North Las Vegas North Las Vegas is a suburban city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, in the Las Vegas Valley. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 262,527, with an estimated population of 280,543 in 2022. The city was incorporated on May 1, 1946 ...

, former state senator and candidate for NV-04 in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Kate Marshall Kathleen Marie Marshall (née Soltero; born July 22, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 35th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 2019 to 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party and was previously the Nevada state ...

, former state treasurer of Nevada, nominee for

Nevada's 2nd congressional district Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, Nevada, Lyon County, a small portion of Lincoln County, Nevada, Lincoln County, all of Churchill Count ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and nominee for

Secretary of State of Nevada The secretary of state of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). Th ...

Ross Miller Ross James Miller (born March 26, 1976) is an American attorney and politician. He is a Democrat, and served as the Clark County Commissioner for District C from 2021 thru 2025, the former Secretary of State of Nevada and 2012–2013 president ...

, former

secretary of state of Nevada The secretary of state of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). Th ...

and nominee for

* Rory Reid, former

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to incl ...

, nominee for governor in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

and son of U.S. Senator Harry Reid *

Steve Sisolak Stephen F. Sisolak ( ; born December 26, 1953) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 30th governor of Nevada from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Clark County Commission from 2009 to 201 ...

, chairman of the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. Compos ...

Dina Titus Alice Constandina "Dina" Titus ( ; born May 23, 1950) is an American politician who has been the United States representative for since 2013. She served as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011, when she was defeated by Joe Heck. Titus i ...

, U.S. representative and nominee for

Governor of Nevada A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

(running for re-election)

Democratic endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Sharron Angle Sharron Elaine Angle (née Ott; born July 26, 1949) is an American politician and perennial candidate who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007. She ran unsuccessfully as the 2010 Republican nominee for the U.S. ...

, former state assemblywoman, nominee for the U.S. Senate in

and candidate for

NV-02 Nevada's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district that includes the northern third of the state. It includes most of Lyon County, a small portion of Lincoln County, all of Churchill, Douglas, Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, P ...

* D'Nese Davis, artist and teacher * Eddie Hamilton, retired auto executive and perennial candidate *

, U.S. representative * Thomas "Sad Tom" Heck, retired air force officer * Robert Leeds, author, retired Merchant Marine and perennial candidate * Carlo "Mazunga" Poliak, retired sanitation worker and perennial candidate * Juston Preble, sales consultant * Bill Tarbell, retired minister and candidate for governor in

Withdrawn

* Bob Beers, Las Vegas City Councilman, former state senator and candidate for governor in 2006

Declined

Mark Amodei Mark Eugene Amodei ( ; born June 12, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district since 2011. The only Republican Party (United Stat ...

, U.S. representative (running for re-election) *

Greg Brower Gregory Allen Brower (born February 8, 1964) is an American attorney in private practice, former state senator in the Nevada Senate, former United States Attorney in the state of Nevada and a former member of the Nevada Assembly. He is a member o ...

, state senator and former

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

for the District of Nevada *

Barbara Cegavske Barbara Katherine Cegavske (née Jewson; born August 27, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician, who is the former Secretary of State of Nevada from 2015 to 2023. She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark ...

, former state senator and candidate for NV-04 in

Heidi Gansert Heidi K. Seevers Gansert (born 1963) is an American politician, businessperson, and engineer from the U.S. state, state of Nevada who served in the Nevada Senate, representing the Nevada's 15th Senate district, 15th district from 2016 to 2024. Sh ...

, former state assemblywoman and former chief of staff to Governor Brian Sandoval *

Cresent Hardy Cresent Leo Hardy (born June 23, 1957) is an American politician and businessman who served as the U.S. representative for from 2015 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Nevada Assembly from 2010 to 2014. Har ...

, U.S. representative (lost re-election to NV-04) * Steve Hill, executive director of the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development *

Mark Hutchison Mark Alan Hutchison (born May 5, 1963) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 34th lieutenant governor of Nevada from 2015 to 2019. He was elected to the Nevada State Senate on November 6, 2012, to represent Senate District 6 ...

, Lieutenant Governor of Nevada and former state senator *

Ron Knecht Ronald Lee Knecht (born May 4, 1949) is an American attorney, businessman and politician. He is a member of the Republican Party. Knecht ran for State Controller of Nevada in the 2014 election and defeated Democrat Andrew Martin. He lost ...

Nevada State Controller The Nevada state controller is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Nevada. Twenty-two individuals have held the office of State Controller since statehood. The incumbent is Andy Matthews, a Republic ...

, former

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

and former state assemblyman *

Brian Krolicki Brian K. Krolicki (born December 31, 1960) is an American businessman and politician. He was the 33rd lieutenant governor of Nevada, from 2007 to 2015. As the Lieutenant Governor, he presided over the Nevada State Senate, chaired the Commission ...

, former lieutenant governor of Nevada *

Adam Laxalt Adam Paul Laxalt ( ; born August 31, 1978) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 33rd Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's unsuccessful nominee for governor of Nevad ...

* Michael Roberson, Majority Leader 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 ...

( running for NV-03) *

Wayne Allyn Root Wayne Allyn Root (born July 20, 1961) is an American conservative television and radio host, author, activist, conservative political commentator and conspiracy theorist. He is the host of three television shows: "The ROOT Reaction" nightly at 1 ...

, former member of the

Libertarian National Committee The Libertarian National Committee (LNC) controls and manages the affairs, properties, and funds of the United States Libertarian Party. It is composed of the party officers, five at-large representatives elected every two years at the national co ...

and Libertarian Party nominee for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest ranking office in the Executive branch of the United States government, executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks f ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Brian Sandoval Brian Edward Sandoval ( ; born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began ...

Dan Schwartz Daniel Mark Schwartz (born July 28, 1950) is an American businessman who served as Nevada State Treasurer from January 2015 to January 2019. An international businessman, attorney and Republican, Schwartz defeated his Democratic opponent, fo ...

, state treasurer and candidate for NV-04 in

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Independent American primary

Candidates

Declared

* Tom Jones, retired businessman and perennial candidate

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declined

Dennis Hof Dennis Leroy Hof (October 14, 1946 – October 16, 2018) was an American businessman and politician. He owned seven Prostitution in Nevada, legal brothels in Nevada, most notably the Moonlite BunnyRanch. Hof was also a Republican Party (United S ...

, owner of the Moonlite Bunny Ranch (running for the

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

)

Independents

Candidates

Declared

* Tony Gumina, physician and businessman * Tom Sawyer, retired railroad worker * G.A. Villa (not on final ballot) * Jarrod M. Williams, veteran

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

with Harry Reid
with Dina Titus
with Catherine Cortez Masto

Results

Cortez Masto won her bid to succeed

47% to 45%, or by 2.43%, running 0.01% better than

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

By county

;Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican *

Mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

(largest municipality:

Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

) * Washoe (largest municipality:

Reno Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

)

By congressional district

Cortez Masto won 2 of 4 congressional districts, with the remaining 2 going to Heck, including one that elected a Democrat.

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official campaign websites (archived)
Catherine Cortez Masto (D) for Senate

Joe Heck (R) for Senate

Tom Jones (IA) for Senate
{{2016 United States elections

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrew

Declined

Democratic endorsements

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Withdrawn

Declined

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Independent American primary

Candidates

Declared

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Declined

Independents

Candidates

Declared

General election

Debates

Predictions

Polling

Results

By county

By congressional district

See also

Notes

References

External links