SISOLAK
Stephen

• 1. Political positions

Stephen F. Sisolak is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 30th governor of Nevada since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served on the Clark County Commission from 2009 to 2019 and on the Nevada Board of Regents from 1999 to 2008.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Sisolak graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Business School. After becoming involved in several civic causes and government projects, he was elected to the Nevada Board of Regents and served from 1999 to 2008. In 2008, he was elected to the Clark County Commission and was reelected in 2012 and 2016. Sisolak served as vice chair of the commission from 2011 to 2013 and as chair from 2013 to 2019.

Sisolak ran for governor of Nevada in 2018. He defeated fellow Clark County commissioner Chris Giunchigliani for the Democratic nomination and then defeated the Republican nominee, then-attorney general Adam Laxalt, in the general election, becoming the first Democrat to serve as governor of Nevada since Bob Miller left office in 1999. He is running for reelection in 2022.\

Political positions

Sisolak's views on sensitive subjects such as same-sex marriage, guns, and the death penalty have changed over the years. On a survey titled the Political Courage Test during the 1996 Nevada state legislative election, in which he ran for a seat in the state senate, he answered "no" on whether the Nevada government should recognize same-sex marriage, "undecided" on whether clinics and medical facilities should get public funding to provide abortion services in Nevada, and "undecided" on whether sexual orientation should be added to Nevada's anti-discrimination laws. In the same survey, he supported the death penalty and did not support the decriminalization of marijuana.

Since then, many of Sisolak's views have shifted to the left. He is now considered a moderate liberal.