Francisco Aguilar (born 1976/1977)[1] is an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the Secretary of State of Nevada since 2023. He was elected in 2022, defeating Republican Jim Marchant.

Cisco Aguilar
18th Secretary of State of Nevada
Assumed office
January 2, 2023
GovernorJoe Lombardo
Preceded byBarbara Cegavske
Personal details
Born
Francisco Aguilar

1976 or 1977 (age 46–47)
Tucson, Arizona, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Arizona (BS, MBA, JD)

Early life and education

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Born to a family of Mexican descent, Aguilar is named after his maternal grandfather Francisco, a miners' union leader in Arizona.[2] Aguilar earned his Bachelor of Arts, Master of Business Administration, and Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona.[3]

Career

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A lawyer, he worked as a law clerk for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.[4] Aguilar served for eight years on the Nevada State Athletic Commission, including two years as chairman.[3] He also served as special counsel to James E. Rogers, chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. He also led Agassi Graf, a management company for tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf.[5]

Aguilar is a member of the Board of Directors for the Las Vegas Bowl,[6] Sletten Construction Company,[7] the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas[8] and the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees.[9] He is a founding board member of the Innocence Center of Nevada.[10] He is the Chairman of the board of trustees of Cristo Rey St. Viator, a Catholic high school in North Las Vegas that principally serves students from impoverished families.[4][11][12]

Aguilar works for De Castroverde Law Group as an attorney and owns Blueprint Sports, LLC, a sports technology company.[13]

Nevada Secretary of State

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Incumbent Republican Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske could not seek reelection in 2022 due to strict absolute lifetime term limit laws. Aguilar announced his candidacy to succeed her in the 2022 Nevada Secretary of State election.[4] He was unopposed in the Democratic Party's primary election. In the general election, he faced Republican nominee Jim Marchant, an election denier who believed the 2020 election had been stolen from former U.S. President Donald Trump.[14]

Aguilar narrowly defeated Marchant in the November 8 general election.[15] He is Nevada's first Latino secretary of state.[16] Aguilar has indicated support for a legislative proposal to make harassing campaign workers a felony.[17]

Electoral history

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2022 Nevada Secretary of State election[18]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Cisco Aguilar 496,569 48.95
Republican Jim Marchant 473,467 46.67
None of These Candidates 18,144 1.79
Independent American Janine Hansen 17,472 1.72
Libertarian Ross Crane 8,821 0.87
Total votes 1,014,473 100.0
Democratic gain from Republican

References

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  1. ^ Levine, Sam (November 6, 2022). "Race for Nevada's secretary of state seat could determine next presidential election". The Guardian.
  2. ^ Leal, Vivian (August 29, 2022). "A Conversation with Cisco Aguilar, Nevada Secretary of State Candidate". DemCast. Retrieved November 14, 2022.
  3. ^ a b Lacanlale, Rio (October 19, 2022). "Voter guide: Election denier, Democratic attorney vying for Nevada secretary of state seat". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c "Cisco Aguilar to run for secretary of state". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 11, 2021.
  5. ^ "On the record: Democratic secretary of state candidate Cisco Aguilar". The Nevada Independent. September 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "Las Vegas Bowl Committee". Las Vegas Bowl.
  7. ^ "BOARD OF DIRECTORS". Sletten Companies.
  8. ^ "Leadership Team". FulFillment Fund Las Vegas.
  9. ^ "Board of Trustees". University of Arizona Foundation. January 2, 2019.
  10. ^ "Board". Innocence Center of Nevada.
  11. ^ "Board of Trustees". Cristo Rey St. Viator.
  12. ^ Las Vegas Sun Staff (October 9, 2022). "Secretary of state candidate in Nevada spells out the stakes of his race". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  13. ^ "Cisco Aguilar to run for secretary of state". Las Vegas Review-Journal. May 11, 2021.
  14. ^ Sonner, Scott; Cassidy, Christina A. (June 15, 2022). "Election skeptic wins GOP race for Nevada secretary of state". Associated Press News. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  15. ^ Hannah Knowles (November 12, 2022). "Aguilar defeats election denier Marchant in race to oversee Nev. voting". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved January 4, 2023.
  16. ^ "Democratic Association of Secretaries of State Endorses Cisco Aguilar for Nevada Secretary of State". Democratic Association of Secretaries of State. March 21, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  17. ^ Solis, Jacob (November 16, 2022). "After defeating election denier, Aguilar outlines plans for secretary of state's office". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved November 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Silver State 2022 – General Election Results – Statewide". Nevada Secretary of State.
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Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of State of Nevada
2023–present
Incumbent