After ten days of open filing season in Nevada for elected non-judiciary positions, five members of the South Asian community filed for the elected office. All the candidates have a succinct background, knowledge, and experience in political campaigns and are active in the political arena at the grassroots level.  

The most notable filing from the community is by an incumbent Indian-American State Assemblyman, Reuben D’Silva, who attracted no opponent and is going again to Carson City to represent the AD28 community. 

The other four candidates have competitive election campaigns in the coming months. The newcomers in an election fray include Devendra Pratap Singh (D) for Clark County School District B (4-year term), a non-partisan race, Hanadi Nadeem (D) for State Assembly 34 (2-year term), Sharifa Wahab (D) for State Assembly 35 (2-year term). Former candidate Syed Zaidi is running to represent State Assembly District 42.

Assembly candidates Hanadi and Wahab won’t be facing any challengers in the primaries and are moving on to the general election in November to face their Republican nominee, respectively. Both Hanadi and Wahab got an endorsement from the Democratic Assembly Caucus. Singh, running for a non-partisan School District position, has five other opponents seeking to represent students and families from School District B. The top two vote-getters in that race will move on to the general election. With name recognition in Assembly District 42, former candidate Syed Zaidi has filed to run against a Democratic incumbent.  

Pakistan-born Hanadi, Afghanistan-born Wahab, and India-born Zaidi filed their respective candidacy on the first day of the filing season. However, Singh waited a while to throw his hat in the political circus ring for an open school district position. Some members from the South Asian community with in-depth political experience, who were unsuccessful in the past, chose to stay out of this year’s Election. 

Surprisingly, no Republican member of the highly educated and financially prosperous community filed for political positions, although most of our community lives in the Republican Districts in Summerlin and Henderson. All five South Asian candidates running for political office in an upcoming election are registered Democrats.

According to Hanadi’s website, Hanadi is married to a successful physician and an experienced healthcare administrator. Over the years, the family has donated over $250,000 to the Democratic candidates and PACs. She is the former President of the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA), an advocacy and philanthropic organization whose mission is to provide medical relief and support to women and children in Pakistan and the United States. 

As per Wahab’s website, Wahab is a small business owner running a senior care business and a non-profit. Wahab strongly believes in lowering healthcare costs and helping small business owners.

Devendra Singh, a resident of Las Vegas for over 40 years, has diversified business interests, including real estate investments. Syed Zaidi is a restaurateur who has run several successful small businesses. 

The primary election is June 11, with early voting from May 25 to June 7. The general election is November 5, 2024. As per the law, mail ballots must be ready for distribution to in-state voters no later than 20 days before the election.

• https://www.sharifafornevada.com/
• https://hanadinadeem.com/
• https://dsilvafornevada.com/