State Senate candidates Steven Horsford and Cedric Crear spend almost every afternoon in the summer heat, searching for votes in the district that shaped their childhoods.
Horsford was 8 years old when his parents began their struggle with drug use. In 1992, his father was shot and killed over drugs at a convenience store at the corner of Lake Mead and Engelstad, just a block from where Horsford works today.
Crear's father was the state's second black doctor, a well-known man who discounted office visits for struggling people, encouraged youngsters to go to college and pioneered drug treatment programs.
Horsford vowed to prevent other people in his district from meeting his father's fate; Crear vowed to continue his father's legacy.
They are just two of the Democrats vying to replace the retiring Sen. Joe Neal, who for 32 years represented the people of Senate District 4. They saw him as a fighter.
Neal was a Democratic Party stalwart scorned by the gaming business because he called for more casino taxes but supported by his district because he fought for civil rights.
The district was carved out in 1970 to give blacks a strong voice for the first time in the state Senate.
Four of the five candidates are black, including Crear and Horsford, who have received the most support from the political establishment.
But since 1980, the district has gone from being 69.2 percent black to 28.5 percent black, in part because other white neighborhoods have been added in redistricting efforts. And more than 20 percent of people in the district mark Spanish as their primary language.
The numbers have prompted some to wonder if the district could elect its first white candidate since it was created.
"It's kind of getting away from its original premise of what it was designed for -- to ensure that the African American community would have a voice in the Legislature," Crear said. "It just means you've got to work harder."
The sole white candidate is Theresa "Terri" Malone, a member of the state Board of Education who is emphasizing her education background and the fact that she hasn't missed a vote yet in her four years on the board.
Another candidate and current member of the Board of Regents, Linda Howard, also has the advantage of having been on the ballot in the area before. She also has Neal's blessing, which she said is a "tremendous benefit."
"I feel that as I've been going door to door," she said. "People know me as a fighter and they know that I will fight for their rights. They know my constituents are very important to me."
Bert Mack, an attorney who has been waiting for years for Neal to retire, threw his hat into the ring as well.
There is one Republican in the race -- Mabel Florence Lucier -- but the Sept. 7 Democratic primary is expected to decide the election. The district is overwhelmingly Democratic.
While candidates brush off speculation that race will be a factor in the election, several said they believe the district's voters need to feel the press of a handshake and look a candidate in the eye before they are convinced that their working class issues will be addressed in Carson City.
Neal maintained a strong voting base even though he wasn't one of the senate's top fund-raisers. Instead, he earned his district's trust by fighting for a range of working class issues.
Neal said he fought for issues that would apply to any district, but a person representing Senate 4 also has to keep a vigilant eye out to preserve "the fairness of the law."
"You wouldn't want laws to be passed that would affect one population over the other," he said. "You just watch for that to make sure it doesn't happen."
Horsford, who said he grew up watching Neal's career, still remembers some of Neal's speeches defending welfare programs in the early 1990s, when Horsford first observed the legislature.
"He was an incredible orator," Horsford said. "He really made an impact on the floor and brought points to the forefront that a lot of people may have never considered."
A core group of voters in the district stuck with Neal because they knew him, even in 2000, when he faced Uri Clinton, a strong, young challenger backed by casino interests.
"The same people vote every time," Mack said. "I think they expect people to touch them in order to get their vote."
Horsford, who spends several hours a day walking door-to-door in the district, said it's easier for candidates to spend time in this district's neighborhoods, which aren't closed off by gates.
"I can walk up any given street in Senate District 4 and neighbors will be out in front of their yards and watering their lawns," he said. "They want to talk to you. It's actually really nice."
Given the district's reputation for a personal touch in politics, it's ironic that this race has been billed as a skirmish between labor unions and non-union Station Casinos.
Horsford was recruited by the AFL-CIO of Nevada to jump into the race after Neal announced he wouldn't run again. He has lobbied on behalf of the gaming industry and now is the chief executive of Nevada Partners, a nonprofit group. He has endorsements from the Culinary Union, as well as teachers and police unions.
"His credentials are just impeccable," said Danny Thompson, executive secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO of Nevada. "His character is without question. I've always thought Steven is just a honest, hardworking guy. That's the kind of person who you want to represent you."
Some have objected to him taking the union endorsements.
"There's a problem in this election, and I'll tell you what it is," Howard said. "All the unions are following the other unions."
Crear is a consultant for the communications company SBC but previously was a marketing executive for Station Casinos, which is pushing his candidacy. The company, though, downplays talk that this is a battle with labor.
"This race is not about the Culinary Union or Station Casinos," said Lesley Pittman, vice president of corporate and government relations for Station Casinos. "It's much bigger than that. It's about the individuals that reside in Senate District 4 and the future of their community."
On the road on the afternoon of July 19, Crear and a small team of volunteers and paid staff members canvassed one of the new neighborhoods added to the district since the last time Neal ran for office.
Crear, ever ready to flash a smile despite the searing heat, asked voters what was on their minds.
"I've watched my property taxes rise and I haven't seen improvements in this area," said Jack Caudill, who just retired from the Air Force.
His wife, Janice, a Teamster who works at the convention center, said she gets frustrated about water issues and traffic.
Voters new to the district might want to focus on valley-wide issues like water, growth and traffic, but Senate District 4 has its own challenges.
It has two of the valley's three poorest zip codes, including 89101, where the average household makes $23,166 and the per capita income is $12,763, according to the census. About one-quarter of all families in 89101 are living below the poverty level.
Though early in the race, there's already been some bickering between the candidates. Eyebrows have been raised after Horsford's Nevada Partners gave the AFL-CIO a large contract.
Crear, who grew up in the district, recently lived in Summerlin but purchased a house in the district in March.
Howard was criticized during her tenure as a regent for obtaining information from confidential student records. Now she is suing developer Becker Enterprises for destroying political signs she posted on property owned by the group.
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