The Nevada Traveler: Nothing trivial about Nevada politics

As we continue to practice social distancing and other ways of avoiding COVID-19, I’ve prepared another round of Nevada trivia to keep you occupied. This installment will focus on Nevada’s always-fascinating political trivia.

1. Who was Nevada’s first elected governor?
2. What governor was known as “Old Broadhorns?”
3. Who was longest serving governor?
4. What has been the most common first name for Nevada’s 29 governors?
5. Who was the first U.S. Senator from Nevada elected from the Democratic Party?
6. Who was the longest-serving member of the Nevada State Senate?
7. Who was the longest-serving member of the Nevada State Assembly?
8. Who was the first woman elected to the Nevada State Legislature?
9. How many members of the Nevada State Legislature are there?
10. Who was the first Native American elected to the Nevada State Legislature?

Answers:

1. Henry G. Blaisdel, elected in 1864, served until 1871.
2. “Old Broadhorns” was the nickname for Nevada’s second elected governor, Lewis Rice Bradley, who served from 1871 to 1879. He earned the nickname because he and his son bought a herd of Texas Longhorns and from the Lone Star State and pushed them all the way across the west to San Joaquin Valley, California.
3. Nevada’s longest-serving governor was Robert “Bob” Miller, who served two and a half terms from 1989 to 1999. Miller was elected Lt. Governor in November 1986 and ascended to the top job in 1989, following Governor Richard Bryan’s election to the U.S Senate.
4. The most common name for a Nevada chief executive has been John (John Kinkead, John E. Jones, John Sparks). Nevada has also had two Richards (Richard Kirman and Richard Bryan), two Jameses (James Scrugham and James Gibbons), and two Charleses (Charles Stevenson and Charles Russell)
5. Nevada, which had previously favored candidates from the party of Lincoln (Republicans) elected James Graham Fair as its first Democratic Senator. Fair served from 1881-1887, then lost his bid for reelection. The two previous U.S. Senators from Nevada (William Stewart and James Nye) were both Republicans.
6. The longest-serving member of the Nevada State Senate was William Raggio, who served Washoe County’s 3^rd district from 1972 until his retirement in 2011, for a total of 39 years.
7. The longest-serving member of the Nevada Assembly was Joe Dini, who served the 38^th district, Lyon, Storey and parts of Carson City, from 1967 to 2001, for a total of 34 years.
8. The first woman elected to the Nevada legislature was Sadie Hurst, a Republican from Washoe County, who was elected to the Assembly in 1918. Hurst served one term and lost her bid for reelection.
9. There are 63 elected members of the Nevada legislature. Forty-two sit in the Nevada State Assembly and 21 sit in the Nevada State Senate.
10. Dewey Sampson, a member of the Northern Paiute tribe in Washoe County, was elected to the Nevada State Assembly in 1938 and served one term.

Rich Moreno writes about the places and people that make Nevada special.