Top democratic leaders in the legislature, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, are calling on the Nevada State Democratic Party Chair Judith Whitmer to step down.

In a joint statement, the democratic leaders wrote:

We are deeply disappointed by recent events that reinforce our concerns over the past two years that Chair Whitmer is not up to the task of managing basic operations and supporting democratic campaigns in the most competitive battleground state in the country. 

With so much at stake for hardworking families in Nevada, we firmly believe it is time for new state party leadership that is up to the job, bringing together democrats from across Nevada and across the political spectrum.

We reached out to State Democratic Chair Judith Whitmer for a response.

She told us that under her leadership, the state party has successfully focused on the electorate and down-ballot races.

Whitmer says the call for resignation is an orchestrated effort by lobbyists who heavily back the state's top tickets state democrats.

"Quite frankly I really don't understand it other than I know that a lot of the motivation, because the power in control, has always been with the lobbyists. And you know when you're going up against those powerful forces the tend to not look to look kindly on it,” said Nevada State Democratic Chair Judith Whitmer.

Federal Election Commission (FEC) data shows that Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager raised more money than any other statewide politician running in 2022 at $875,000. Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro raised more than $400,000, and she was not running for re-election during the 2022 cycle.

Whitmer says that campaign financing is splitting the party between special interests and the electorate.

“I ran on a platform of reform so the work that I am doing was clearly stated in my platform and the majority of the members elected me based on those promises. So I am fulfilling the promises I made when I ran for this office and a fair election,” said Whitmer.