Nevada's 9th Senate district

In 2014, incumbent Democrat Justin Jones ran for re-election, drawing four Republican opponents: Becky Harris, Vick Gill, David Schoen, and Ron Quilang.[8] Harris, who was endorsed by the Senate Republican Caucus, had previously waged an unsuccessful campaign for State Assembly.[9] Gill, a political newcomer, focused on his opposition to the Affordable Care Act. Schoen highlighted the lack of young voices in politics, while Quilang contended that politicians didn't represent small businesses and that Nevada was "moving backward."[8] Harris won the primary with just over half of the vote; Gill was behind with 40%, while both Schoen and Quilang received around 5%.[10]

During the general election campaign, Harris presented herself as a moderate. The Las Vegas Review-Journal went further by calling her "[a] Republican running on Democrat issues."[11] Jones' campaign was supported by the Culinary Workers Union and the AFL–CIO, both of which provided volunteers for his campaign.[12] In September, in an television ad which the Review-Journal called misleading, Jones was attacked for previous incident representing Las Vegas Sands as an attorney.[13] Two polls were conducted: a late September poll from Republican pollster The Tarrance Group which showed Harris up 45-42%, and an early October poll from Democratic pollster Momentum Analysis showing Jones leading Harris 46-44%.[14]

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, District 9 was one out of three districts that "[would] decide which party [would control] the Senate."[15] Harris ultimately defeated Jones with 55% of the vote, resulting in a Republican Senate majority.[16]

In 2010, Republican Elizabeth Halseth was elected to the 9th district under different borders. However, on February 17, 2012, she resigned after her husband was arrested and the couple divorced, triggering an off-cycle election on November 6, 2012 to fill the remainder her term.[17]

Both Democrats and Republicans held primaries for the seat. On the Democratic side, lawyer and 2004 Assembly candidate Justin Jones was challenged by College of Southern Nevada professor and 2010 gubernatorial candidate Frederick Conquest.[18] With the endorsement of the Senate Democratic Caucus, Justin Jones won the primary with over 80% of the vote.[19][20] For Republicans, Nevada GOP spokeswoman Mari Nakashima St. Martin faced Assemblyman Brent Jones, who supported the Tea Party movement.[19] St. Martin won the endorsement of the Republican Senate Caucus and defeated Brent Jones 54-46%.[21][20]

In the general election, Justin Jones campaigned on jobs and education, promoting smaller class sizes and arguing that an improved education system would attract new businesses to the state. St. Martin similarly highlighted education, saying that the government should not cut school funding, and advocated for fewer business regulations. Jones' previous representation of Las Vegas Sands in a civil lawsuit proved to be another campaign focus. As part of the suit, Jones was a member of a group of attorneys which was later fined $25,000 after a judge determined they had an "intention to deceive." Jones, who was not personally convicted, defended himself, but St. Martin nevertheless campaigned on the issue.[22] Although St. Martin out-raised Jones $350,000-$280,000, Jones won the election by around 300 votes.[23][24]