Appointed for the special session, Republican assemblymember faces primary challenge to keep the job

Republican Assemblymember Jason Patchett, who was appointed to fill the vacancy in Assembly District 19 nearly six months ago, is running to retain the seat.

His opponent Amy Groves, who previously lost in the 2022 Republican primary in the district, says voters should think twice about electing him after his vote in November’s special session in favor of expanding Nevada’s film tax credit program from $10 million per year to $120 million per year. 

The bill would have allocated $1.8 billion in public subsidies for the television and film industry over a decade.

In an interview with Nevada Current, Patchett defended his vote saying the Gov. Joe Lombardo-backed bill, which ultimately failed, was “geared toward jobs and infrastructure improvement.” Patchett reiterated claims made by supporters of the legislation that the expanded tax credit program would create 19,000 construction jobs.

Groves, who has assailed Patchett’s vote online on her campaign website and various blog posts, didn’t respond to numerous requests for comment. 

Assemblymember Toby Yurek, who was first elected to office 2022 after defeating Groves in the primary, resigned in October. Patchett, a former lawyer with the Clark County District Attorney’s office, was unanimously appointed by Clark County commissioners in November to fill the vacancy. 

Whoever wins during the primary is all but guaranteed to win the seat; no Democrat filed in the safe Republican district and one libertarian candidate will be in the general election. 

Patchett had raised $68,000 as of March 31, while Groves had raised $30,000. according to campaign finance reports. 

If elected to retain the seat, Patchett said his top priorities would be public safety and “protecting the taxpayer.”

“I think it’s important that we keep taxes low and we control the spending within the local or the state government agencies and demand accountability for every dollar that’s been spent,” he said, adding “protecting the taxpayers is essential.”

What’s best for the taxpayer has been one of the main criticisms Groves has against Patchett.  

Patchett’s appointment in November came days before Lombardo convened a special session seeking to pass legislation that would have been the largest public subsidy in state history, along with other priorities that did pass during the regular session. 

Though the film tax credit bill failed in the Senate, Patchett was one of the Republicans who backed the bill when it was passed in the Assembly. 

“I looked at that as a great opportunity to kind of diversify and expand our tax base and increase the job market opportunities for those seeking higher paying quality jobs,” he said.  

A nonpartisan analysis showed the tax credit would have created a $62.1 million structural deficit for the state in fiscal year 2030

When asked about the fiscal cliff the bill could have created, Patchett said he considered the “arguments on both sides of the issue” and determined the bill “was about jobs and the economic ROI.”

“I looked at that as a great opportunity to kind of diversify and expand our tax base and increase the job market opportunities for those seeking higher paying, quality jobs,” he said. 

On her campaign website, Groves said she is challenging Patchett because of his vote and questioned the Republicans who backed the bill. 

“That bill – which fortunately was killed in the State Senate – would have given Hollywood film studios millions of dollars in tax credits that eventually would have led to higher taxes for the rest of us,” Groves wrote on her website. 

Groves has also called Patchett a RINO – Republican In Name Only. 

“I don’t know what that means,” Patchett said, arguing that lessening a “tax burden on a corporation, seems a very Republican thing to do to the industry.”

AD 19 isn’t the first district Groves has run in. In addition to losing to Yurek in 2022, in 2014 and 2016, she lost in the Republican primary for Assembly District 29. She also lost in the 2012 general election for Assembly District 14.

Crime & traffic

Prior to serving in the legislature, Patchett, an attorney, successfully rallied lawmakers in 2023 to increase criminal penalties for reckless driving. The bill, known as Rex’s Law, was named for Patchett’s 13-year-old son who was killed by a driver going 90 miles per hour in front of his school.

“My son lost his life because someone chose to violate traffic laws,” he said. “The penalty structure on that particular crime at the time was not sufficient.”

The legislation passed unanimously and raised the penalties from six to ten years in reckless driving cases that result in death or bodily harm when going more than 50 miles per hour over the posted speed limit or driving in a school zone or pedestrian safety zone.

Patchett said there is always more to be done to address public safety concerns like traffic accidents. 

During the special session, he voted in favor of Lombardo’s crime bill.

The legislation elevated certain crimes against hospitality workers to higher felony categories by categorizing them as a protected class, increased penalties for DUI-related offenses, and eliminated automatic sealing of records for offenses against children or the elderly. 

If elected, Patchett wants to revisit some of the laws he says have been “watered down” in recent years. 

He specified he isn’t referring to decriminalization of low level administrative crimes like traffic violation for a broken tail light, but rather offenses involving reckless driving. 

“I’m not saying that penalties are the only solution to the problem,” he said. “What I’m saying is it’s a tool in the toolbox that we need … I’m also interested in other issues in public safety, like infrastructure changes or educational outreach issues … to prevent the behavior of aggressive driving or driving under the influence. There’s other ways to attack the problem that we see rampant within our community.”

Acknowledging the electorate’s concern with affordability, Patchett said he would support “anything that allows for development of affordable housing” but favors private-based solutions. 

Lombardo didn’t include any legislation to address the housing crisis in the special special, but a last minute legislative procedure allowed a proposed bill that sought to place a 1,000-unit cap on the total aggregate number of homes that could be purchased in a year by private investors. The measure failed to pass.  

It was the third time in the last several years that lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to rein in the industry. 

Patchett voted against the legislation, citing concerns about its constitutionality and a need for “more discussions around the topic.”