Ballot Battleground: Nevada
Ballot Battleground: Nevada is a show where we take deep dives into the issues, people, policies and debates shaping Nevada politics in our critical swing state. Many voters find themselves confused or overwhelmed when they walk into the voting booth. Our goal is to explain the issues that matter most to everyday Nevadans so they're fully informed before casting their ballot.
Episodes
Primary election day in Nevada is less than three weeks away and thousands of mail ballots have already been cast.
This week on Ballot Battleground: Nevada, we’re taking a break from candidate interviews and campaign issues to bring you a how-to guide for newer voters.
Washoe County registrar of voters Andrew McDonald joins the show to answer all your top voting questions. We cover when and where you can vote, how Nevada’s clo...
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May 13, 2026 • 31 mins
For the first time in his political career, Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks faces a serious challenger — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
On this week’s Ballot Battleground: Nevada, we continue our two-part deep dive into the Republican primary that will decide who serves as the county’s top prosecutor.
This time: the incumbent’s case. Chris Hicks argues he deserves another four years, pointing to more than two ...
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May 6, 2026 • 30 mins
For the first time in Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks’ political career, he has a challenger — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
On this week’s Ballot Battleground: Nevada, host Ben Margiott begins a two-part deep dive into the Republican primary that will decide who serves as the county’s top prosecutor.
First up: Sparks City Attorney Wes Duncan, who makes his case to unseat Hicks, pointing to concerns about cha...
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Nevada’s 2026 governor’s race is already shaping up to be a nail-biter. A new poll shows Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo essentially tied with the likely frontrunner, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.
Of course, a sizable share of undecided voters will be the deciding factor in the general election.
On this episode of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, host Ben Margiott goes inside the numbers with Mike Noble, founder and CEO of No...
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April 15, 2026 • 32 mins
There are less than 60 days until primary election day 2026, and Ballot Battleground: Nevada is shifting into full-on election mode.
This episode, we're diving into the mailbag to answer listeners' burning questions about the primary with News 4 Reno/Fox 11 morning show anchor Chris Murphy.
Can you vote in both partisan primaries? Why do we need new ballot marking devices? Why haven't we interviewed candidates yet? And why isn't...
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April 1, 2026 • 35 mins
In Nevada, elections are often decided by razor-thin margins — and a small batch of ballots can make all the difference.
In 2022, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto won by fewer than 8,000 votes, overtaking Republican Adam Laxalt days after Election Night as mail ballots continued to be counted, including some that arrived after Election Day.
Now, that narrow window is at the center of a major U.S. Supreme Court case that could resha...
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The field is set. 27 candidates — the most ever by far — filed to run for Nevada’s 2nd congressional district after the sudden retirement announcement from Republican Rep. Mark Amodei.
With no incumbent running and a potentially bluer national landscape, some political insiders believe a Democrat could flip the seat for the first time ever. Is that a reality? Who are the top contenders on both sides?
This week on the Ballot Battl...
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Candidate filing has begun, mock elections are happening and officials are testing new ballot marking devices — the 2026 midterm election cycle is officially here.
This week on the Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast, host Ben Margiott interviews Nevada's elections chief, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
Ben and Sec. Aguilar discuss Nevada's new ballot marking devices, voter ID proposals at the state and federal level, whether E...
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February 18, 2026 • 27 mins
Harry Reid was the most powerful politician Nevada has ever produced — and the machine he built still shapes state politics today.
This week on Ballot Battleground: Nevada, The Nevada Independent CEO and veteran journalist Jon Ralston joins host Ben Margiott to discuss his new book, The Game Changer, and what it reveals about Reid’s rise from Searchlight to Senate Majority Leader — and how he rewrote the political playbook for Dem...
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Nevada has already climbed the Presidential primary calendar, establishing itself in the slate of early states that vote prior to Super Tuesday.
But now Democratic party leaders want to move up to first in the nation, with the Nevada Dems officially submitting their bid to the DNC last month.
Why is Nevada deserving of the coveted top spot?
In the first episode of season 3 of Ballot Battleground: Nevada, host Ben Margiott speak...
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January 28, 2026 • 2 mins
Ballot Battleground: Nevada is back for Season 3.
2026 is an election year — and here in Nevada, the stakes are high. From Congressional races and a crucial Governor’s race to state and local contests and major ballot questions, we’re covering it all.
I’m Ben Margiott, a reporter at News 4 Reno and Fox 11, and I'm passionate about breaking down Nevada politics to make it more accessible, more digestible, and more relevant for vot...
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After 7 days, Nevada lawmakers adjourned the state’s 36th special legislative session sine die late Wednesday.
The week was packed with unexpected surprises, important policy debates, long lulls in the action and criticism about the lack of transparency.
From a rare procedural move that nearly derailed film tax credits on day 1 to lawmakers adding their own bill to the agenda for the first time ever, it was a dramatic special ses...
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November 12, 2025 • 31 mins
In the 2026 midterms, Washoe County will — once again — have someone new running its elections.
Andrew McDonald is the county’s new registrar of voters — the 4th person to hold that job since 2022.
But McDonald says he’s in it for the long haul and he's got some big goals: moving the registrar’s office to a bigger location, continuing to clean up the voter rolls, and bringing in new voting machines that leave a paper record for ...
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October 29, 2025 • 30 mins
It's mail time at Ballot Battleground: Nevada. This week, we're digging through the listener mailbag once again with News 4 and Fox 11 morning show anchor Chris Murphy.
Host Ben Margiott and Chris answer questions ranging from tax reform and John Doe's identity to open primaries and the cost of a special legislative session.
Do you have questions for our next mailbag? Send them to bjmargiott@sbgtv.com and put Ballot Battleground:...
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October 15, 2025 • 31 mins
Legislators will be headed back to Carson City this fall for another special session of the Nevada legislature — the sixth since 2020.
Governor Joe Lombardo announced he wants them to finish some 'unfinished business' in the next few months.
So when exactly will that be? What still needs to get done? And why have there been so many special sessions lately?
One of the biggest issues likely to come up is whether Nevada should offer...
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October 10, 2025 • 15 mins
It's day 10 of the federal government shutdown and it seems Congress is no closer to an agreement to reopen the government.
Amid the partisan standoff, we got the chance to sit down with Northern Nevada's representative in the U.S. House, Republican Mark Amodei.
In this bonus episode, we asked Amodei why he opposes extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies, whether he supports the effort to ensure military members are paid and ...
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October 1, 2025 • 23 mins
In August, Nevada government agencies were hit with a crippling ransomware attack.
Thankfully, Nevada’s election infrastructure wasn’t affected.
But against that backdrop — and with concern over Nevadans’ personal information still fresh — the Department of Justice is now requesting driver’s license records and partial Social Security numbers for every registered voter in the state.
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar joins this w...
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September 17, 2025 • 40 mins
ICE arrests are surging in Nevada as the Trump administration moves forward with its mass deportation agenda promised in the campaign.
In this episode, we go beyond the headlines to hear from both sides of the immigration debate.
First, Athar Haseebullah of the ACLU of Nevada explains why his organization is fighting back against what it sees as government overreach.
Then, Bruce Parks, chair of the Washoe County Republican Pa...
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September 3, 2025 • 33 mins
President Trump’s second term has put mass deportations back at the center of U.S. politics — and Nevada offers a revealing look at what that means on the ground.
In part 1 of our two-part series, host Ben Margiott talks to reporter Kim Burrows, who witnessed several ICE arrests during an exclusive ridealong in May.
Then, we turn to The Nevada Independent’s Eric Neugeboren and Isabella Aldrete, who crunched the numbers to an...
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August 20, 2025 • 27 mins
The Silver State is home to some of the most interesting characters - political and otherwise.
Former Assemblyman, journalist and columnist Pat Hickey recently released Here and Hereafter: Nevada Voices on Life and the Great Beyond.
The book includes inspiring, intimate portraits of power of some of the most famous, infamous and influential Nevadans of the 21st century.
Host Ben Margiott interviews Hickey about his extended i...
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