Nicole Cannizzaro
Nicole Jeanette Cannizzaro is an American Democratic politician currently serving in the Nevada Senate. She represents the 6th district, which covers parts of Las Vegas.
Cannizzaro is the first woman to serve as Majority Leader of the Nevada Senate. Cannizzaro is a candidate for Nevada Attorney General in the 2026 elections.
Biography
Cannizzaro was born in Las Vegas. She earned a bachelor's degree in business administration and management from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2006, and a Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2010. Following graduation, she worked as a legal clerk and then began practicing law in Las Vegas. She joined the Clark County District Attorney's Office in 2011 where she served as a Chief Deputy District Attorney.After more than a decade at the Clark County District Attorney's Office, she returned to private practice in 2022.Cannizzaro was elected to the Senate in 2016 by a narrow margin, defeating Republican Victoria Seaman. She was reelected in 2020 and 2024. In July 2025, Cannizzaro announced she would run for Nevada Attorney General in the 2026 statewide election.
Legislative initiatives
Cannizzaro has sponsored legislation on a variety of topics during her three terms in the Nevada Senate.Public Safety:
- Banning the possession, production, or distribution of AI generated child pornography
- Increasing criminal penalties for trafficking fentanyl
- Awarding back pay to state police and other state employees
- Creating a more affordable public health care option to be sold in Nevada's individual health care market
- Expanding coverage for postpartum services for new mothers
- Providing funding for 20% raises for public school teachers
- Banning government agencies in Nevada from assisting other states' prosecutions of abortion patients or providers
- Adding reproductive rights to the Nevada Constitution
- Removing outdated criminal penalties for abortion from Nevada law
- Expanding contraceptive access by allowing pharmacists to directly dispense birth control