Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager’s decision to walk away — not just from his Assembly seat but now from the Clark County Commission race as well — is being framed as a personal choice. “Not the right place for me,” he told The Nevada Independent. A moment to “pursue passions” and “reconnect with friends.”

But anyone paying attention to the past year in Carson City knows better:
This isn’t just a man stepping back. It’s the clearest sign yet that Nevada Democrats are cracking from within.

Yeager’s retreat comes after a special session that exposed deep fractures inside his own caucus. His authority was openly challenged — repeatedly — not by Republicans, but by Democrats.

Two members of his caucus took the extraordinary step of trying to block his agenda and even his procedural decisions:

• Asm. Selena La Rue Hatch attempted to kill the film tax credit bill Yeager championed by invoking a seldom-used legislative rule.
• Asm. Selena Torres-Fossett tried to block Yeager’s choice to allow virtual voting — a direct challenge to his control of the floor.

These aren’t minor disagreements. They are public acts of defiance against the top Democrat in the Assembly.

And they didn’t come from Republicans.
They came from inside his own house.

Yeager denies the chaos influenced his decision — but if your caucus is revolting in real time, voters can draw their own conclusions.

A Leadership Vacuum at the Worst Possible Time for Democrats

Yeager and Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui had already announced they wouldn’t seek re-election in 2026. Add in Speaker Pro Tem Daniele Monroe-Moreno abandoning her seat to run for North Las Vegas mayor, and Democrats are losing their top three Assembly leaders simultaneously.

This has not happened in modern Nevada political history.

Democrats will try to spin this as normal turnover. It isn’t.
When leadership flees, it signals instability — and instability invites challengers.

That’s exactly what’s happening. Democrats are facing a wave of intra-party primaries this cycle, something they usually avoid at all costs. From Assembly seats to Congress, Democrats are battling themselves in races that should have been calm.

Yeager’s exit adds gasoline to the fire.

Contrast: Republicans Are Building, Recruiting, and Expanding

While Democrats are navigating the fallout of their own internal conflicts, Republicans are doing the opposite: filling seats, strengthening caucuses, and positioning themselves for competitive primaries where voters actually have choices.

• Assembly Republicans have already moved quickly to fill vacancies left by Toby Yurek and Ken Gray, with experienced policy-focused replacements recommended by leadership.
• Republicans are launching serious statewide bids, including a competitive attorney general primary with Adriana Guzmán Fralick and Danny Tarkanian.
• And in Clark County Commission District F — the very race Yeager abandoned — Heidi Kasama, Albert Mack, and other GOP-aligned figures are stepping forward.

While Democrats are pulling back, Republicans are pushing ahead.

Even the Courts Are Seeing Change That Signals a Shifting Climate

Two longtime Democratic-appointed Family Court judges — Art Ritchie and Robert Teuton — aren’t seeking re-election. With all 26 Family Court seats on the ballot, and a wave of retirements coinciding with political turbulence, even the judicial landscape is entering a transition phase.

Democrats have spent years treating judicial races as low-drama territory. That era may be ending.

The Real Story: Yeager’s Exit Is Part of a Broader Democratic Breakdown

Take a step back and look at the pattern:

• Democrat leadership collapsing simultaneously
• Public caucus infighting
• Uncharacteristic primary challenges
• High-profile exits
• Legislative defections and dissent
• A chaotic special session that exposed rifts
• Senate and Assembly members choosing not to refile
• A growing divide between progressive activists and establishment Democrats

If this were happening within the Republican Party, local media would be calling it a meltdown.

But the truth is in plain sight:
Nevada Democrats are entering 2026 fractured, fatigued, and politically vulnerable.

Yeager can say his resignation has nothing to do with caucus turmoil — but voters see the writing on the wall.

And Republicans should see it too.

Because for the first time in years, Democrats are not marching in lockstep. Their machine is slowing down, their leadership bench is thinning, and their internal disagreements are breaking into public view.

That is the kind of political environment where power shifts — quickly.

2026 isn’t just shaping up to be competitive.
It’s shaping up to be the year Democrats finally lose their grip on Nevada.