Barbara Katherine Cegavske (née Jewson; born August 27, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician, who is the former Secretary of State of Nevada from 2015 to 2023. She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 8 (map) from 2002 to 2014. Previously, she served in the Nevada Assembly from 1996 to 2001. According to her legislative biography, she was educated at Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota, and at Clark County Community College (now known as the College of Southern Nevada) in Las Vegas.[1] With her husband, Tim, she was a 7-11 convenience store franchisee for thirteen years before seeking political office.[2]

Barbara Cegavske
17th Secretary of State of Nevada
In office
January 5, 2015 – January 2, 2023
GovernorBrian Sandoval
Steve Sisolak
Preceded byRoss Miller
Succeeded byCisco Aguilar
Member of the Nevada Senate
from the 8th district
In office
2002–2014
Preceded byMark James
Succeeded byPatricia Farley
Member of the Nevada Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
1996–2002
Preceded byJeannine Stroth
Succeeded byValerie Weber
Personal details
Born
Barbara Katherine Jewson

(1951-08-27) August 27, 1951 (age 73)
Faribault, Minnesota, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseTim Cegavske
Children2
EducationCollege of Southern Nevada (BA)
WebsiteCampaign website

Cegavske is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), serving as Nevada state leader in 2012.[3]

Cegavske successfully ran for the office of Secretary of State of Nevada in 2014, defeating Democratic state treasurer Kate Marshall. Cegavske supports voter ID laws and opposes same-day voter registration.[4] She was reelected in 2018, very narrowly defeating Democrat Nelson Araujo. With the defeat of several fellow Republicans in that election, Cegavske became the only member of her party holding statewide elected office in Nevada.

After Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Donald Trump lost while refusing to concede, Cegavske was censured by the Nevada Republican Party for not having conducted an investigation into allegations of fraud and for "dismissive public statements regarding election integrity concerns."[5]

Electoral history

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Cegavske was elected in 1996 to the Nevada Assembly from the Clark County 5th District.

Nevada State Assembly, Clark District 5 Primary Election, 1996
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 942 46.73
Republican Jeannine Stroth 799 39.63
Republican Harry Pappas 275 13.64
Nevada State Assembly, Clark District 5 General Election, 1996
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 6,883 77.46
Libertarian Patrick O'Neill 2,003 22.54
Nevada State Assembly, Clark District 5 General Election, 1998[6]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 6,392 100
Nevada State Assembly, Clark District 5 General Election, 2000[7]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 6,457 54.63
Democratic Kristen Hansen 5,362 45.37
Nevada State Senate, Clark District 8 Primary Election, 2002[8]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 3,738 55.93
Republican Tom Christensen 2,945 44.07
Nevada State Senate, Clark District 8 General Election, 2002[9]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 15,854 62.55
Democratic Kristin Hansen 9,491 37.45
Nevada State Senate, Clark District 8 Primary Election, 2006[10]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 3,951 62.05
Republican Tim Cory 2,416 37.95
Nevada State Senate, Clark District 8 General Election, 2006[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 14,884 54.51
Democratic Chanda Cook 12,421 45.49
Nevada State Senate, Clark District 8 General Election, 2010[12]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Barbara Cegavske 17,127 55.79
Democratic Tammy Peterson 13,573 44.21
Nevada's 4th congressional district, Primary 2012[13]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Danny Tarkanian 7,605 31.51
Republican Barbara Cegavske 6,674 27.65
Republican Kenneth A. Wegner 5,069 21
Republican Dan Schwartz 2,728 11.3
Republican Kiran Hill 666 2.76
Republican Diana Anderson 607 2.51
Republican Mike Dela Rosa 370 1.53
Republican Sid Zeller 252 1.04
Republican Robert X. Leeds 165 0.68
Nevada State Secretary of State election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Barbara Cegavske 273,872 50.41 +13.11
Democratic Kate Marshall 250,671 46.14 −7.06
None of These Candidates None of These Candidates 18,799 3.46 −6.14
Total votes 543,342 100
Republican gain from Democratic
Nevada State Secretary of State election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican Barbara Cegavske 467,880 48.91 −1.5
Democratic Nelson Araujo 461,551 48.25 +2.11
None of These Candidates None of These Candidates 27,200 2.84 −0.62
Total votes 956,631 100
Republican hold

References

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  1. ^ "Senators. Barbara K. Cegavske" (PDF). state.nv.us. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
  2. ^ "Her introduction to the free-market system proved to be valuable first-hand knowledge when she and her husband Tim became owners of a 7-Eleven franchise. Over the course of 13 years, the Cegavskes faced daily challenges but also experienced the rewards of employing fellow Nevadans and contributing to the state’s economy." http://nvsos.gov/sos/sos-information/office-facts/about-barbara
  3. ^ "State Chairmen". American Legislative Exchange Council. Archived from the original on April 1, 2012. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  4. ^ Myers, Laura (September 26, 2014). "Cegavske backs voter ID law for Nevada". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
  5. ^ Jamerson, Michael C. Bender, Alexa Corse and Joshua (November 23, 2021). "Trump's False Claims of Voter Fraud Test Republican Candidates". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved November 24, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "1998-Nevada General Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 1998. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  7. ^ "2000-Nevada General Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2000. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  8. ^ "2002-Nevada Primary Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  9. ^ "2002-Nevada General Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2002. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  10. ^ "2006-Nevada Primary Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  11. ^ "2006-Nevada General Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  12. ^ "2010-Nevada General Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
  13. ^ "2012-Nevada Primary Election". Secretary of State of Nevada. November 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
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Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Nevada
2015–2023
Succeeded by