"All Lives Matter."

“IMPEACH BIDEN.”

An image of a woman in a red tank top holding a sign reading, "Democrats are the virus."

These are a few of the Facebook posts Democratic Assembly District 20 candidate Trish Marsh has put up on her social media page in the last two years. Marsh, a longtime resident of Nevada, is challenging Assemblyman David Orentlicher (D-Las Vegas) in his first bid for re-election.

Though her Facebook posts seemingly indicate a more Republican lean, Marsh said that everyone has thrown statements out on Facebook, and there were times when she would say, "just impeach him, too," referring to former President Donald Trump.

"It's the heat of the moment. And when it comes to Biden, sure, there's a lot of things I disagree with, but then there's a lot of things that I agree with," Marsh said.

Previously, Marsh ran unsuccessfully as a Republican for the Clark County Commission in 2018 and a Republican candidate for state Senate District 7 in 2012. Now registered as a Democrat, Marsh said she identifies more with that party. Both parties want "virtually the same thing," she said. 

"I did some soul-searching within myself and I found myself to be more leaning toward Democrat and that's why I chose to do what I did," Marsh said. "I'm not totally far left, and I'm not even far right. I am right in the middle."

She added that Assembly District 20, which covers a portion of Las Vegas northeast of the airport, has a heavy Democratic registration advantage, with a large portion of nonpartisans.

As for Black Lives Matter, a topic Marsh has discussed on her Facebook page, she stands by her belief that “all lives matter.” Marsh also said she does not consider Black Lives Matter a terrorist organization, despite a post where she wrote “absolutely” to an article she shared titled “Should Black Lives Matter be considered a TERRORIST organization?”

"I don't care if you're green, purple, yellow, orange. Everyone matters," Marsh said. "Everyone is a person. It's a life and we need to open up our arms to everyone and quit singling out."

Marsh has critiqued her opponent for being out of touch because he recently moved to Nevada from Indiana, where he previously served as a state legislator. But Marsh added that she is especially against his support for legislation focused on "blind charging," or prosecutors not being aware of a suspect's race when deciding whether to file charges.

"That's racist right there. I don't know that any prosecutor would go along with this. What works in Indiana doesn't necessarily work in Nevada," Marsh said.

Orentlicher, who trained as a doctor and holds a law degree, responded to Marsh’s critiques saying blind charging is designed to protect against racial bias in the criminal justice system. He added that during his five years in Las Vegas, he’s been an active member of the community, served on the board of the ACLU of Nevada and spent hours speaking with constituents as a candidate and elected official.

“I am pro-choice, pro-equality, and a lifelong Democrat,” Orentlicher said. “Trish Marsh has run as a Republican candidate and even after changing her party registration, continued to express fundamental Republican viewpoints.”

Marsh said the pandemic's revelation of problems across the spectrum — from health care to education — inspired her to run for office. She said that she also wants to strengthen the ability of attorneys to prosecute sex-trafficking crimes.

"I love Nevada. My mother raised me in Nevada. I've been here since I was one month old," she said. "I don't believe that this particular district has been represented properly over the course of several years. And so that's why I jumped on this bandwagon."

Editor’s Note: This story appears in Indy 2022, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2022 election. Sign up for the newsletter here.