Democratic state Sen. Dina Neal is facing a challenge from a higher education regent in a primary race where the outcome will determine who represents the district for the next four years.

SD4 is a heavily Democratic district encompassing part of North Las Vegas. No Republicans filed for the seat, which means the winner of the upcoming primary election will automatically win the general election.

Neal was first elected to the Nevada State Senate seat in 2020 after representing the same area in the Nevada State Assembly for 10 years. To secure a second term in the upper chamber, Neal must survive a challenge by Laura Perkins, a first-term regent for the Nevada System of Higher Education. Perkins insists she was motivated to run by a desire to influence policy beyond what the Board of Regents is capable of, and not by dissatisfaction with Neal, who has butted heads with some members of North Las Vegas City Council and been publicly accused of misusing her influence.

‘It was just time,” Perkins said of her decision to run, “The time is right.”

Neal declined to be interviewed and did not respond to written questions submitted by the Current.

Perkins says her experience on the Board of Regents has prepared her for the Legislature.

“It’s like you have eight cities,” she said of the institutions overseen by the board. “I learned about finance, budget, human resources, investments, Title-9… You have to be a jack of all trades when you’re a regent.”

Perkins previously ran for mayor of North Las Vegas in 2022, coming in last in a crowded primary field of seven candidates. Pamela Goynes-Brown, who won that race and became the city’s first Black woman mayor, has endorsed Perkins in the state senate race. North Las Vegas City Councilman Isaac Barron also endorsed her.

“Perkins is an ethical, honest and fierce advocate for our entire community, not just her select friends,” said Goynes-Brown in a statement released by the campaign. 

“I know she will restore moral and ethical representation to Nevada Senate District 4,” said Barron in a statement.

Goynes-Brown and Barron’s comments allude to public allegations made by the former head of the publicly-funded grant program NV Grow that Neal attempted to pressure him into awarding her friend money for his small business. Neal, who in 2015 passed the legislation that created the NV Grow program, has denied any wrongdoing and characterized the accusations as being part of a smear campaign by the City of North Las Vegas in retaliation over her work with Windsor Park, a long-blighted neighborhood where the homes are sinking into the ground.

Neal sponsored a bill during the last legislative session that secured $20 million from North Las Vegas and $10 million from the state to make the remaining homeowners in Windsor Park whole by relocating them to new properties. The city opposed the bill.

Perkins, when asked, did not directly address the criticisms of Neal being lobbied by her endorsers, saying that she “wants to run for the seat, not challenge her.” But she did call the endorsements “very motivating and encouraging.”

Perkins said that, if elected, her focus will be on education and economic development. She said she’d also like to find a way to help middle class families who are struggling with being caretakers for their elderly family members, a situation she experienced in the final years of her mom’s life.

Neal chairs the Senate Revenue and Economic Development Committee. Many of the bills she sponsored have dealt with tax policy. She has led efforts to modernize Nevada’s sales tax, which currently applies to tangible items and not their digital counterparts, and proposed a method for adjusting property tax without touching the beloved cap. She was also an outspoken critic of Tesla receiving hundreds of millions of dollars in tax abatements without approval from lawmakers.

Neal’s campaign had nearly $27,000 cash on hand as of March 31, according to her campaign finance reports. Her top contributors include Citizens for Justice Trust and Cox Communications, which gave $5,000 and $2,500, respectively.

Perkins had raised approximately $2,000 as of March 31, according to her campaign finance reports. Half of that — $1,000 — came from the real estate development company American Nevada Holdings.

U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday during National Police Week to honor the legacy of Sergeant Nevada Krinkee of the Sheridan Police Department. Sergeant Krinkee tragically died in the line of duty on February 13, 2024.

Barrasso closed his remarks on the Senate floor by saying “law enforcement officers wear the badge and protect our communities despite all the risks, it is the definition of selflessness. To the men and women of law enforcement – you are everyday heroes, and you are among us every day.”

The Nevada men’s basketball roster should be set for next season, as the Wolf Pack officially announced Brandon Love will join the team.

Love (6-foot-9, 215 pounds) played at Texas State the past three seasons.

“Brandon provides tremendous experience as a veteran player,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said in a news release. “Brandon is a big man that can really defend and rebound. He will bring great athleticism and shot blocking ability to our front court. I have been impressed with his continued development offensively, as he averaged double figures in scoring this past season. Brandon is a great student and a high character individual, and we are excited for him to join our program.”

Love, a forward, appeared in 85 games, with 41 starts for Texas State over the past three seasons. He has career averages of 6.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 54.1 percent from the field.

This past season, Love started a team-high 34 games for the Bobcats as he posted season averages of 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, shooting 54.9 percent from the field. He reached double figures in scoring in 19 games for Texas State, and he recorded three double-doubles.

Love recorded at least one block in 21 of 34 games last season, including two or more blocks in 16 games.

He will have one year of eligibility remaining with Nevada.

He will join Kobe Sanders on the Wolf Pack. Sanders played at Cal Poly the past four seasons and averaged 19.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game last season.

Nevada also has signed:

• Xavier DuSell, senior: played at Fresno State last season, where he averaged 11.5 points per game
• Chuck Bailey III, sophomore: Bailey (6-5, 185) was named to the Missouri Valley Conference all-freshman team last season, as he averaged 8.4 points and 2.6 rebounds in 18.5 minutes per game
• Justin McBride, sophomore: McBride (6-8, 230) averaged 2.5 points and 1.5 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per game last season for Oklahoma State.

Nevada lost Jazz Gardner in the transfer portal as he signed with Pacific. Tyler Powell signed with Eastern Washington and Tylan Pope signed with Texas State. Snookey Wigington is also in the transfer portal.