Low-scoring Clark County District Court judges lead in early results as two races stay close

What happened

Initial returns in Clark County District Court races showed incumbents mostly ahead early Wednesday, including several who got low marks from attorneys in the newspaper's 2025 Judicial Performance Evaluation, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. All 32 District Court seats were on the ballot this year, and two-thirds of the candidates ran unopposed, according to the newspaper.

The early numbers also extended a pattern of women leading in local judicial contests, the Review-Journal reported. In 2020, women defeated men in 15 of 18 contested District Court races. This year, female incumbents were ahead in all four races in which men challenged them.

How the attorney survey played in

The Review-Journal's evaluation, informally called Judging the Judges, let attorneys give anonymous feedback, including whether they would keep each judge in office. The newspaper reported that some of the judges who drew challengers this year had scored low in that poll.

Department 31

District Judge Joanna Kishner received a 46.6 percent retention score, the third lowest of all judges in the survey and the lowest for a judge now sitting in District Court, according to the Review-Journal. District Judge Erika Ballou scored 32.8 percent but has since resigned. Kishner faced Alexandra McLeod, a civil attorney who has made several unsuccessful bids for District Court, and led with 58.9 percent of the vote early Wednesday.

Departments 8 and 23

In Department 8, District Judge Jessica Peterson cleared the failing mark with a 54.2 percent retention score, still below the court average of 72.9 percent. She was ahead with 57.5 percent of the vote. In Department 23, 57.3 percent of attorneys surveyed wanted to keep District Judge Jasmin Lilly-Spells, who led Metropolitan Police Department attorney Martina Bauhaus with 55.9 percent.

Department 28

Incumbent District Judge Ron Israel, who drew a 50.7 percent retention score, chose not to run again, the newspaper reported. Justice of the Peace Noreen DeMonte led civil attorney Danielle Tarmu for the open seat with 51.5 percent of the vote early Wednesday.

The closest contests

Department 29

Prosecutor Alex Quagge was slightly ahead of District Judge Jacob Reynolds early Wednesday, with 50.4 percent of the vote to Reynolds' 49.6 percent, according to the Review-Journal.

Department 30

District Judge Jerry Wiese, a former chief judge of the court, had 50.5 percent of the vote in early results. His challenger, workers' compensation lawyer Joshua Santeramo, had 49.5 percent.

Other incumbents holding leads

In Department 5, District Judge Veronica Barisich led prosecutor Tracy Hibbetts with 57.9 percent of the vote. In Department 12, longtime District Judge Michelle Leavitt, who hears homicide cases, had 71.2 percent to public defender Daniel Gilliam's 28.9 percent.

District Judge Jennifer Schwartz led with 75.4 percent in Department 17. Her opponent, prosecutor Jacob Villani, ran a low-profile campaign but used it to criticize Schwartz's record, and described himself as a "ghost opponent essentially," the Review-Journal reported. In Department 21, District Judge Tara Clark Newberry led public defender Alex Hubert with 63.4 percent.

Beyond District Court, two Las Vegas Municipal Court seats, a Henderson Municipal Court seat and a Henderson Justice Court seat also gave voters a choice, the newspaper reported. Early returns in the county's Family Court races are covered separately, along with the rest of our election coverage.

What to watch next

• Updated counts in Department 29, where Quagge led Reynolds 50.4 percent to 49.6 percent in early results.
• Updated counts in Department 30, where Wiese led Santeramo 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent.
• Whether DeMonte holds her 51.5 percent lead over Tarmu for the open Department 28 seat as results are updated.