SOS Race Finally Called: Is it about the money?

The election results from the primary for 2026 were slow in coming in, with the race for Secretary of State for the Republicans not called until almost a week later. Surprisingly, Jim Marchant, former candidate for Secretary of State in 2022 spent little or no money for his campaign and came out on top of the race. His April 15, 2026 C&E Report shows no money spent in the first quarter of his campaign. Though we often say, “It’s all about the money”, in this race it was apparently name recognition that won the race.

The favored Republican candidate in the race who was endorsed by Governor Lombardo had contributions reported in excess of $100,000, spending almost $11,000 per the April 15, 2026 C&E Report.

Sharron Angle, who served as a Republican member of the Nevada Assembly from 1999 to 2007 and ran in 2010 as the Republican nominee in the Senate race for Nevada winning 44.6% of the vote, not enough to win the seat. She reported contributions in excess of $15,000 and spent just over $20,000 per the April 15, 2026 C&E Report.

The other candidate in the race, Socorro Keenan a Republican political candidate and community activist based in Las Vegas, Nevada, known for multiple runs for elected office, with a focus on business, Hispanic community outreach, and conservative priorities like election integrity. She reported contributions of $1200 and spent $1300 per the April 15, 2026 C&E Report.

Final “unofficial” results for these candidates were:

Percent Total Votes

Jim Marchant: 32.57% 58,863

Shirley Roberts-Folkins: 30.56% 55,228

Sharron Angle: 26.22% 47,392

Socorro Keenan: 3.38% 6,104

None of these candidates: 7.27% 13,135

The totals reflect a low turnout for the primary that is typical for the mid-term races.

2026 Primary: 21.8% (~449,000 votes) — Slight increase from 2024, driven by competitive races (e.g., Northern Nevada’s CD-2 congressional primary and local contests in Washoe/Carson City) This reflects unofficial results at the time of this publication.

The Democrat candidate, Francisco Aguilar had no opponent so automatically advanced to the general election for 2026.

Although reports indicate a high volume of mail in voting, results are not sorted by ballots dropped off at a voting center vs actual votes mailed in via USPS, a distinction that many voters consider a bit deceptive on the part of the Secretary of State’s office.

Is the public really embracing mail in ballots or do they prefer dropping off? There is no method of sorting developed to report to the public. Though individual counties may have those numbers, they are not required to report separately per the Nevada Revised Statutes.

Marchant C&E Report: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=TFpiIKNcsFlgoIO4InGE2Q%253d%253d

Folkins-Roberts C&E Report: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=lYuc6Cya%252fK8%252fgNSnOVzPNQ%253d%253d

Angle C&E Report: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=0u1gYWXc5b99Ol%252fLtf%252b%252fvg%253d%253d

Keenan C&E Report: https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSCandidateServices/AnonymousAccess/ViewCCEReport.aspx?syn=Nd9sM%252b6IuctK5yVjOB4usw%253d%253d