The Democratic primaries in Southern Nevada’s Senate District 3 and Assembly District 17 are widely seen as a test of the Culinary Union’s power in legislative politics.
The union — which represents 60,000 members across the state and is a politically powerful force in Nevada — is backing two candidates running against Democratic establishment picks.
Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said in a May interview that the union backed Geoconda Hughes for Sen. Rochelle Nguyen’s (D-Las Vegas) Senate District 3 seat, and union leader and server Linda Hunt in Assembly District 17, as a way to offer voters “an opportunity to choose better Democrats.” Hughes is the daughter of former Culinary Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Argüello-Kline.