The race for the next Nevada Attorney General consists of four candidates.

Two Republicans and two Democrats.

A couple of weeks ago, 2 News Nevada sat down with both republican challengers, Danny Tarkanian and Adriana Guzman Fralick.

Now, we're hearing from the two Democratic candidates, State Treasurer Zach Conine and Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro.

Meet the candidates

Cannizzaro has been a long-time legislator since she won a State Senate Election in 2016. 

She became the first woman Senate Majority Leader in 2019.

The legislator also has plenty of law experience.

"I have been a lawyer for about 16 years now, and I love being able to advocate in the courtroom," Cannizzaro said in a sit-down interview with 2 News Nevada.

She worked with the Clark County District Attorney's Office for 11 years, mostly in the gang unit.

"I have the experience as a litigator doing both civil and criminal litigation to be able to lead an office of a lot of attorneys who are tasked with representing this state in every facet you can imagine, and I've done a lot of policy working the state legislature," Cannizzaro said.

Before that, she was a graduate from the University of Nevada, Reno, and then went to law school at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Boyd School of Law.

She was born and raised in Las Vegas.

Zach Conine made history as the state's 23rd Treasurer.

"So, when I took office, we had about $2.6 billion in the bank," Conine said in a sit-down interview with 2 News Nevada. "Today, we've got about $10 billion in the bank. We have made around $1.6 billion in investment returns..."

"... We're the fifth or sixth largest revenue stream in the state at any given time, and we have also increased the credit rating of the state three times. We took the rainy day fund from $0 right after the pandemic, up to where it is now at about $1.3 billion, the highest it's ever been."

Conine grew up in New York and got his undergraduate degree from Cornell University.

He then also got his law degree from UNLV. Conine was involved with gaming before becoming the Treasurer for seven years.

Now, his sights are set on the AG's office.

"There's so much more work to do, and I've been a client of the Attorney General's office for the last seven and a half years," Conine said. "We work with them each and every week. We understand how great a team they have over there and how important that work is to Nevadans."

Conine's legal experience centers around being a business attorney.

"We help small businesses grow," he said. "We did transactions, complex work on that front, and one of the things that we really learned was that a big piece of businesses being successful is making sure they have the right leadership and making sure that they can avoid expensive situations."

Priorities

Cannizzaro told us two of her major priorities if elected AG.

"First is protecting our communities, I've worked on a lot of legislation to help keep kids safe online," she said.

Her other focus is housing.

"Your Attorney General's Office has a significant role in consumer protection, so I want to focus on ways in which we are seeing some of these real estate scams and how people are manipulating pricing and housing to make it unaffordable," Cannizzaro said.

Conine's first priority comes as no surprise, given his comments and actions since President Donald Trump took office.

"We want to enhance the great work that Attorney General Ford has done, right?" he said. "One of the things we hear a lot on the campaign trail is people asking us, 'Are you going to be constantly suing the federal government? Just like Ford is?' Right. They look around, and every day Ford is announcing a new lawsuit against the president. I always have to correct them."

Conine's second issue is helping out small businesses.

"Leveling the playing field," he said. "You know, we have a situation in Nevada where the powerful get more powerful, where the rich get richer. And we Nevadans who are just trying to get by are finding it harder and harder each and every day to do so. Right. That means making sure that good businesses can thrive, because we're going after bad businesses for not following the rules."

Why each thinks they're best for the role

Both candidates say their experience is why they think they're the best fits for the role.

Cannizzaro says her criminal court cases and her work as a legislator are the best of both worlds.

"In this primary, I am the only candidate who has any sort of courtroom experience," she said. "I am the only candidate who's tried a case. When you're talking about hiring the state's next attorney, you have to be looking at those qualifications."

Cannizzaro has worked with Governors on both sides of the aisle. She's worked with all of them in her time in the Nevada State Legislature.

"I am proud that I have worked with Governor Sandoval, Governor Sisolak, and Governor Lombardo to pass good pieces of legislation," she said.

Conine believes his role running the Treasurer's Office and working in business law makes him the best fit.

"As a transactional and business attorney, our job was to help businesses grow and succeed in the Treasury," he said. "My job has been to lead and motivate a team of people. Right. And the only candidate in this race who's ever managed anyone else at the kind of level that we're talking about here, the only person who's ever hired or retained in the executive branch."

Conine says when working with a Governor, there will be things they will be able to agree on, and some things they'll disagree on.

He pointed out that each office is independently voted on, and said he will make decisions on what he thinks is right for Nevadans.

Early voting starts May 23 and goes until June 5. The primary election is June 9.

Democratic candidate for Nevada Attorney General Nicole Cannizzaro sits down for an interview with 2 News Nevada.

Democratic candidate for Nevada Attorney General Zach Conine sits down for an interview with 2 News Nevada.