Nevada’s attorney general seat is open with incumbent Democrat Aaron Ford termed out and running for governor.
Aside from governor, the office of attorney general is the most important statewide constitutional office.
Attorney general has been a springboard office held by future Nevada governors and U.S. senators. Three of the last nine attorneys general later became either governor or senator.
According to Prof. Larry Sabato’s highly-respected political assessment, it’s currently a toss-up whether a Democrat or Republican wins Nevada’s attorney general race.
Sabato’s “Crystal Ball” reported last August:
“The Democrats have state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and state Treasurer Zach Conine in the race. Both are considered strong candidates. Frequent Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian is running.”
“We’ll start this race at toss-up, but if a strong Republican fails to enter the race, it could shift toward the Democrats.”
Tarkanian, 64, is making his 10th bid for office since 2004, losing seven of them despite winning several competitive GOP primaries.
He is the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian and former Las Vegas City Council Member Lois Tarkanian. Born in California, he moved to Nevada when he was 12.
Following graduation from law school, Tarkanian worked four years at his own law firm before starting a real estate investment business.
Since 2004 he has run for office in all but two election cycles. He has mounted unsuccessful campaigns for Nevada Senate (2004), Nevada Secretary of State (2006), U.S. Senate (2010), and U.S. House of Representatives (2012, 2016, 2018 and 2022).
In 2020, Tarkanian was elected by 17 votes to the Douglas County commission and re-elected in 2024.
Tarkanian and his wife Amy, a former Nevada Republican Party chairwoman, angered grassroots Republicans for their combined failures to support GOP nominees in 2022.
Amy joined “Republicans for (Aaron) Ford” and appeared in television ads endorsing Democrat Ford over the Republican nominee for Attorney General. Danny refused to support the Republican nominee for state Treasurer who opposed Democrat Conine.
As a result, both Tarkanians were expelled from the Douglas County Republican Central Committee by unanimous vote.
Republican Adriana Guzman Fralick, 57, announced her candidacy for Nevada Attorney General in October claiming she can win the general election “and that’s why I’m running.”
Born in Mexico, Guzman Fralick moved to Nevada when she was 9, grew up in Sparks, attended UNR as an undergraduate and received her law degree from UNLV.
Fralick is bilingual and has her own law firm in Reno.
She has served in several positions in local and state government including as counsel to former Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons, the Nevada Commission on Ethics—where she provided guidance on legal and policy issues— counsel to the Public Utilities Commission and as chief deputy district attorney for Carson City.
For over two years, she chaired the Cannabis Compliance Board where she oversaw all aspects of the cannabis industry’s licensing and operations.
In December, Gov. Joe Lombardo endorsed Fralick calling her “uniquely qualified” to be Attorney General.
This prompted Tarkanian to falsely claim that Fralick had previously run for office as a Democrat and was the candidate of “the deep-state consulting class.”
Fralick has made clear her conservative beliefs, writing on her campaign website she supports President Trump “in opposing sanctuary cities and will ensure Nevada never adopts these reckless policies.” She is endorsed by Reno attorney Joey Gilbert.
In the first quarter, both candidates raised similar amounts of direct donations, but Tarkanian reported $461,000 cash on hand—almost three times as much as Fralick.
However, in February the Frontline Victory Fund, a national conservative PAC focused on attorney general races, backed Fralick with a $500,000 commitment. She also received $1,000 from Rep. Mark Amodei.
Newcomer Adriana Guzman Fralick challenges a perennial familiar name, Danny Tarkanian. Republican voters should ask: Who can win in November?
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
