Michelle Nelson’s 2026 campaign for Nye County district attorney

Michelle Nelson has announced her election bid for Nye County District Attorney and last week the candidate held a kickoff event to launch her campaign.

“It was very humbling for me that people took time out of their busy day to be here,” Nelson told the Pahrump Valley Times after the event concluded. “I am not a politician. This is my first time throwing my hat into the ring. So the support and the kindness of everyone that showed up was very heartwarming.”

Nelson’s campaign event was held Thursday, Feb. 5, at Our Place Coffee. Thirty-nine people attended the kickoff to hear the district attorney candidate speak.

“I’ve seen the county decline. This isn’t the county that it was three years ago … This is where I plan to retire and want to stay. If it keeps going in the direction that it’s going, it’s not a place I would want to stay,” the candidate said after the event on why she decided to run.

During her speech, Nelson discussed her top priorities if elected as public safety through consistent enforcement of laws and ordinances, greater transparency through more accessible public records, improving teamwork within the district attorney’s office and with other county departments, and ensuring her door will always be open to the public for questions and other concerns as district attorney.

“First and foremost, it’s a public office. I answer to the public. It’s the people in Nye County that are going to be able to vote me in. It’s the people in Nye County that I account to. It’s the people of Nye County that I need to be accessible to,” Nelson told the audience during her speech.

Prior to working for Nye County, Nelson was an attorney for 30 years, working 25 years at her own private practice in Orange County, California. About eight years into her private practice, Nelson took the Arizona bar and became licensed to help clients in the Grand Canyon State. Nelson worked primarily in corporate litigation but also did criminal defense work with a business partner and fellow attorney. After moving to Pahrump, she decided to take the Nevada bar with plans of opening up her office in Nye County’s largest community. In the midst of that, and after passing the Nevada bar in 2019, Nelson saw that the District Attorney’s Office was hiring for a deputy district attorney, so she applied.

“I think it brings a fresh perspective to the office because I do see things from the outside,” Nelson said about her experience after the event wrapped up. “My career has not been in government office. It’s been in private practice, so I hear and I see things from the outside people’s perspective. I think bringing that fresh perspective, those ideals to the district attorney’s office, to run it like a private practice where the people of Nye County are what’s important, is the path forward.”

Nelson has worked at the Nye County District Attorney’s Office for six years and currently serves as a chief deputy district attorney. Nelson hopes to unseat incumbent Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi, who has announced he will be seeking reelection.

“I’m the right candidate for district attorney because I truly believe that I can make the difference,” Nelson told the Pahrump Valley Times after the kickoff. “I have a good job at the district attorney’s office. I truly believe in my heart that I can make the changes and implement the things that need to be done to make this county better.”

For more information about Michelle Nelson’s campaign for Nye County district attorney, visit Michelle Nelson for Nye County District Attorney on Facebook.

For further information, contact michelle@nelson4districtattorney.com

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com