Nevadans can expect to see several newcomers on the benches of courts in Las Vegas, Henderson and North Las Vegas, according to early election results released Tuesday evening.

Preliminary results showed that, notably, attorney James Dean Leavitt came in second in a five-candidate race for the Las Vegas justice of the peace seat in Department 4, with 23.6 percent of the vote.

Suzan Baucum was in the lead around 10 p.m., leading with 28.1 percent of the vote ahead of Leavitt, Jessica Smith-Peterson, Hilary Heap and Holly Stoberski.

Leavitt’s previous unsuccessful campaigns for judicial seats were marked by controversialincluding accusations that he hit a traffic flagman, which he denies.

In the race in Las Vegas for a seat in Department 2 of the Justice Court between incumbent Joseph Sciscento and Chief Deputy Public Defender Kristal Bradford, Bradford led Tuesday night with 51.1 percent of the vote, according to first results. This year is the first time that Sciscento faces an opponent.

Bradford, who has said he wants to become a judge after years of representing the “most vulnerable people in our society,” interviewed a mailer sent by Sciscento’s campaign announcing the Republican Party’s support, although the judicial races are nonpartisan. Sciscento said the support came from the Nevada Republican Club and reprinted the mailers.

In Las Vegas Justice Court Department 5, Justice of the Peace and former Chief Judge Cynthia Dustin-Cruz led in polls against Chief Deputy District Attorney Madilyn “Leavitt” Cole with 51.6 percent of the vote , according to the first results.

Cole said the Justice Court needed a strong leader after Dustin-Cruz resigned as chief justice, a decision Dustin-Cruz said he made in order to continue “doing a phenomenal job” within the various committees on which she sits.

Dustin-Cruz said Cole’s use of his family’s name “Leavitt” was an “attempt to draw on someone else’s reputation.” Cole said she is proud of her identity and wants people to know who she is. Dustin-Cruz also criticized the GOP emblem on one of Cole’s mailers, but Cole said the group in question was not the GOP and had not violated judicial canons.

In Department 8, candidate Nancy Bernstein was in the lead Tuesday night ahead of her opponent, Amy Ferreira, with 50.1 percent of the vote. Bernstein, a criminal defense attorney and civil litigator, said she was inspired to come forward after her ex-husband Dennis Prince was shot and killed at his Summerlin law office in April. Ferreira, a hearing specialist, said she hopes to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Elsewhere, around 10 p.m., veteran prosecutor Sandy DiGiacomo had won 58.3 percent of the vote, edging public defender Marla Renteria in one vote. race for a seat on the Justice Court in Henderson.

In North Las Vegas, courtroom master and former Army aviation officer Jonathan Cooper was edging out lone former North Las Vegas municipal judge Sean Hoeffgen for justice. seat with 74.8 percent of the vote, according to initial results.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Estelle Atkinson at [email protected]. Follow @estellelilym on X and @estelleatkinsonreports on Instagram.