Who is State Senate District 19 victor John Ellison? 

Longtime Elko resident John Ellison, 71, emerged successful in the June primary for the State Senate District 19 seat. He was competing against Bill Hockstedler and Chelsy Fischer. No Democrat filed for the deep red district, so Ellison is guaranteed the seat as Nevada looks forward to the 2025 legislative session in February.  

State Senate District 19 includes not only Elko and Eureka but Ely and parts of Lincoln, Nye and Clark County as well. The area was represented by Eureka local Pete Goicoechea (R-Eureka) for 12 years, but the seat was left empty as Goicoechea termed out. 

Ellison received significant advantages compared to his competitors during the primary including more than $45,000 more in campaign funds, an endorsement from Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo and name recognition from Ellison’s 12 years as a state assemblyman.

He also spoke at a Donald Trump rally in Reno at the end of last year. 

Though Ellison has received significant endorsements and funds, his campaign was not all smooth sailing. In April, Ellison received backlash after he referred to former employees as “colored people” during an endorsement interview with Veterans in Politics. The remark was later criticized statewide for Ellison’s use of racist language. However, Ellison said in an interview with Nevada Central Media on Tuesday the comment was taken out of context.

Ellison said he wants to create preventative squatter laws in Nevada and work with local law enforcement to create bills amending sexual assault felony laws.

Here’s a look at who Ellison is, what he hopes to accomplish and how the race is shaping up so far.

Why is the State Senate District 19 race important?

State senators are one part of the bicameral Nevada State Legislature along with their other half, the Assembly. Once every two years, the Senate and Assembly members meet in Carson City for 120 days to update state law. (Special sessions sometimes extend how long lawmakers are at the state capital.)

Because Senate and Assembly Districts are determined in part by population, rural districts such as Senate Districts 19, 14 and 17 cover almost the entirety of rural Nevada. Rural lawmakers are also significantly outnumbered by lawmakers from urban areas such as Las Vegas and Reno. 

District 19 in particular covers most of Eastern Nevada, from the Silver State’s northeast corner above West Wendover to the northern outskirts of Mesquite and eastern portions of Pahrump.

Recent redistricting has Ellison, as well as former White Pine County Commissioner Richard Howe, worried District 19’s southern expansion could result in rural voices being drowned out in the legislature if Las Vegas continues to expand.

“It would give us a big shock [if Vegas expanded into District 19],” Ellison said. “We fought that redistricting to the death. Didn’t do us any good.”

Who is John Ellison?

Ellison was born and raised in a ranching family in Elko. He describes himself on his campaign website as a “cowboy philosopher…A dedicated family man, a small business owner, a skilled electrician, and a fervent advocate for Second Amendment rights in Nevada.”

His wife of 42 years, Cindy, died in 2021. Before her death, Cindy Ellison worked for Elko County as a justice of the peace for 33 years. John Ellison has four children, one of whom passed away several years ago.

Ellison began his political career when he was appointed to the Elko Planning Commission. Eight years after that, he ran a successful bid for the Elko City Council and later served as Elko County Commissioner for a decade. In 2010, Ellison became the Assembly District 33 representative, a seat he held until he was termed out in 2022. Bert Gurr, also from Elko, now represents Assembly District 33.

Ellison describes himself as a conservative Republican. During an interview with Nevada Central Media, Ellison praised Lombardo’s work in the legislature, particularly his vetoing Democrat-backed gun control bills. 

“ A lot of people like to shoot. A lot of people like self-protection at home,” Ellison said. “[Lombardo] did a very good job, and I thought that was impressive.”

These bills included laws that would have prevented a gun purchase by anyone convicted of a hate crime in the last decade. Another bill would have criminalized bringing a gun within 100 feet of an election site, and the third bill would have raised the legal age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles and shotguns to 21. 

Ellison not only earned an endorsement from Lombardo but legislative Republicans Assemblyman P.K. O’Neill (R-Carson City) and Assemblywoman Jill Dickman (R-Sparks). 

Criticism and controversy this election

During an endorsement interview with Veterans in Politics, Ellison was asked about an ongoing investigation into a veterans home in Boulder City that was facing claims of racial discrimination. Ellison was asked how he would hold the executive branch accountable if he was elected to the legislature. Ellison said he “doesn’t see color” and noted he had previously employed two “colored people.”

The term Ellison used was later criticized statewide.

“Nevada is one of the most diverse states in our country. Racial slurs of any kind have no place in Nevada. Following John Ellison’s reprehensible comments about former employees he apparently fired, Joe Lombardo must either condemn these offensive remarks or explain to Nevadans why he won’t,” Nevada State Democratic Party Spokesperson Tai Sims wrote in a press release after the remarks. 

Ellison told Nevada Central Media on Tuesday the comments were taken out of context.

“We do not believe in racism, and they try to make a big deal out of it, and that’s not true,” Ellison said. “I knew it was a setup when I walked in that door, and I should have just excused myself, but I didn’t.”

Legislative goals

In the 2025 legislative session, Ellison said he wants to create preventative squatter laws in Nevada so people cannot move into an abandoned structure and claim it legally as their own.

“We’re not having that happen much in Nevada like back east,” Ellison said. “We need to get it on the books…We need to make sure that our people in the state are protected.”

Ellison also said he is working with local law enforcement to create bills amending sexual assault felony laws.

When asked if Ellison has any plans this session to address the lack of healthcare in rural Nevada, he said he would support a bill addressing this issue if brought to the legislature. 

Because District 19 is so large geographically, Ellison said he is already meeting with constituents across Eastern Nevada from Ely and Eureka, all the way to Southern Nevada. He said he has friends in all these communities and is available 24/7 for the people he represents. 

When asked what he hopes his legacy as a politician will be, Ellison said, “It’s always about the people.”