Cisco Aguilar wins reelection as Nevada secretary of state

Overview

Updated 1 hour ago

Cisco Aguilar will remain Nevada’s chief elections officer after defeating Republican Jim Marchant in the 2026 secretary of state race. His office runs elections and campaign finance filings in a presidential swing state.

Aguilar first won the job in 2022 by beating Marchant, who claimed all Nevada winners since 2006 were installed by a 'deep-state cabal' and pushed to scrap voting machines. The rematch tested whether that message could win control of the office that helps run Nevada’s elections. Marchant lost again, keeping a Democrat in charge of election administration.

Why it matters

Control of Nevada’s election office stays with a Democrat, in a presidential swing state where false 2020 fraud claims shaped the race.

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Key Indicators

Statewide terms won by Aguilar

First elected in 2022; reelected in 2026.

2022

First Aguilar-Marchant matchup

Aguilar beat Marchant for the same office four years earlier.

Candidates in Marchant’s 2022 coalition

All but two lost or were unresolved when the Los Angeles Times reported it.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

People Involved

Cisco Aguilar

Nevada secretary of state

Reelected in 2026

Jim Marchant

Republican candidate for Nevada secretary of state

Lost 2026 rematch to Cisco Aguilar

Barbara Cegavske

Former Nevada secretary of state

Left office in 2022

Organizations Involved

Nevada Secretary of State

State election authority

Office at the center of the story

The office oversees Nevada elections, campaign finance filings, business licenses and notaries.

Timeline

November 2022 November 2026

2 events Latest: Today

November 2026
Aguilar wins reelection as Nevada secretary of state
Today Election

KLAS reports Aguilar defeats Republican Jim Marchant in a rematch.
Today
November 2022
Aguilar beats Marchant for Nevada elections post
Election

Aguilar wins secretary of state race over Republican Jim Marchant.
November 12th, 2022

Scenarios

Nevada certifies 2026 results without a statewide recount

Likely Resolves by End of 2026

Discussed by: KLAS reporting on the race and Nevada election procedure

Aguilar’s office and county clerks count and canvass the vote. If no candidate challenges the margin or obtains a statewide recount, the result is certified and Aguilar begins another term.

Nevada Legislature passes poll-worker harassment protections by 2027

Possible Resolves by Q2 2027

Discussed by: Aguilar’s 2022 campaign statements

Aguilar said in 2022 that making harassment of election workers a felony would be a priority. A bill would need to pass both chambers and be signed by the governor.

A Nevada county files a plan to make hand counting its primary tabulation method

Possible Resolves by Nov 30, 2028

Discussed by: Marchant’s 2022 push for county hand counts

Marchant urged county commissions to request hand counts, and some rural counties experimented with them. A county could formally ask the secretary of state to use hand counting as its main method for a future federal election, testing Aguilar’s pledge to respect local decisions.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

November 2022

Nevada secretary of state race (2022)

Democrat Cisco Aguilar defeated Republican Jim Marchant for Nevada secretary of state. Marchant had organized a coalition of 17 Republican candidates who questioned the 2020 election; all but two lost or were unresolved at the time. Aguilar promised poll-worker protections and restoring trust in elections.

Then

Aguilar took over an office that runs elections, campaign finance and business filings.

Now

The result kept a critic of election conspiracy theories in charge of Nevada’s voting systems.

Why this matters now

The 2026 rematch asked voters whether Marchant’s message could win the same office four years later.

2020-2022

Nevada 2020 election review

After the 2020 presidential race, then-Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske investigated claims of widespread voter fraud in Nevada. She said she found no credible evidence. The state Republican Party censured her for defending the results.

Then

Nevada certified its results and Cegavske became a target inside her own party.

Now

The episode made election administration a partisan battleground in a presidential swing state.

Why this matters now

Aguilar inherited an office where false fraud claims had already become a central campaign issue.

2022

Election-denier secretary candidates (2022)

Republican secretary of state candidates in several swing states ran on false claims about the 2020 election. In Nevada, Arizona and Michigan, prominent candidates lost. Indiana elected Diego Morales; Kari Lake’s Arizona governor race was too close to call at the time.

Then

Most of the highest-profile election-denier candidates lost.

Now

The losses slowed but did not end efforts to change election administration from inside state offices.

Why this matters now

Marchant’s 2026 rematch was a second test of whether those claims could win Nevada’s elections office.