Clark County District Court Judge Jacob Reynolds is fighting to keep his seat on the all-civil Department 29 bench against Alex Quagge, a Clark County prosecutor and Army veteran making his first run for office. The two will appear on the November 3 general election ballot after no other candidates filed for the seat, and the race has already drawn hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign cash along with endorsements from labor unions, law enforcement groups, and the Clark County District Attorney himself.
Reynolds was appointed to Department 29 by Governor Joe Lombardo in 2023 and ran unopposed in 2024 after his opponent dropped out, according to Nevada Current. Before taking the bench, he spent nearly 15 years as a partner and senior counsel handling complex commercial litigation at the Las Vegas firm Hutchison & Steffen, including lead argument in a $400 million antitrust suit, according to the Clark County Bar Association. He also clerked for U.S. District Judge Roger L. Hunt earlier in his career.
It isn't Reynolds' first time on a Clark County ballot. In 2020, he ran for Department 21, placing first in the nonpartisan primary before losing the general election to Tara Clark Newberry, who took 51.2% of the vote, as Hoodline reported in its coverage of Newberry's current race. Newberry went on to become the first openly LGBTQ judge elected to Clark County District Court.
A Prosecutor With Military Courtroom Experience Steps In
Quagge currently works as a prosecutor for the Clark County District Attorney's office and previously served as a prosecutor in Carson City, per the same Nevada Current report. He holds the rank of Major in the Nevada Army National Guard and spent four years on active duty as both a prosecutor and defense counsel in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, giving him trial experience on both sides of the courtroom, according to Ballotpedia.
Quagge grew up in East Las Vegas, graduated from Eldorado High School, and earned both his bachelor's degree and law degree at UNLV's William S. Boyd School of Law, according to the Silver State Report. He has said he decided to enter the race after speaking with attorneys and others who were unhappy with the current state of the bench, the report notes.
If elected, Quagge plans to preside over a split docket handling both civil and criminal matters, with an emphasis on rehabilitation. He has said crime is often motivated by housing instability, untreated mental health issues, or untreated substance abuse, and that judges should bring empathy to everyone in the courtroom, including criminal defendants. He has also said he would eventually like to preside over the district's Veteran Treatment Court, which he describes as highly effective but lacking sufficient inpatient treatment beds and providers.
Reynolds Defends His Record on an All-Civil Bench
Reynolds has acknowledged he has never handled a criminal case and has no criminal law background, noting that Department 29 carries an all-civil docket. He has said he tells 50% of the people who come before him no, and has pushed back on attorneys backing his opponent, saying those upset by rulings they disagreed with are supporting Quagge. “My business is to be fair,” Reynolds has said, adding that he is not a judge who grants favors.
In the Las Vegas Review-Journal's 2025 “Judging the Judges” survey, Reynolds was evaluated by 189 attorneys and received a 73% retention recommendation, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which surveyed 101 local jurists and found three district and family court judges scoring below 50% retention that year. Reynolds received his highest marks for administrative ability and his lowest for legal ability in the same survey. Six of 33 appealed cases from his courtroom were deemed in error, per Nevada Current.
Reynolds has also handled high-profile civil matters during his tenure, including the contested estate of late Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh. In August, he issued an order sealing a forensic mental health evaluation report submitted in that case, the Review-Journal reported — a move permitted under Nevada court rules allowing judges to seal or redact filings upon written motion.
Fundraising Gap Widens as Endorsements Split Along Labor and Law Enforcement Lines
As of the July reporting period, Reynolds had raised $483,000 and had $370,000 on hand, far outpacing Quagge, who had raised $145,000 and had about $110,000 in the bank, according to Nevada Current. Reynolds has been endorsed by a dozen law enforcement unions along with groups including Hispanics in Politics, the Latin Chamber of Commerce, Veterans in Politics, Laborers 720, and Third Branch PAC, which describes itself as bipartisan but is funded by the Nevada Republican Club. Reynolds was invited to interview for that PAC's endorsement by Pauline Lee, the report notes.
Quagge, meanwhile, has picked up endorsements from Nicole Cannizzaro, Tick Segerblom, and Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, along with Plan Action, the Nevada Now PAC, veterans groups, and several labor organizations, including Culinary Local 226, SEIU Nevada, the AFL-CIO, the Southern Nevada Central Labor Council, and Teamsters Nevada. A Coalition for a Fair and Qualified Nevada Judiciary, which includes about 20 firms generally representing plaintiffs, has also endorsed Quagge.
The Eighth Judicial District Court is Nevada's largest trial court, with general jurisdiction over felony criminal cases, civil disputes exceeding $15,000, family court matters, and appeals from municipal and justice courts, according to the Silver State Report. District court judges serve six-year terms. The Department 29 contest is one of nine Clark County district court races on the November ballot as Nevada voters decide 31% of the state's trial bench this cycle, several of which bypassed a primary after only two candidates filed. Early voting in the race begins October 17.
