Fiore concedes in Nye County justice race, Foley leads runoff matchup

Suspended Nye County Justice of the Peace Michele Fiore conceded after Nye County voters pushed her into third place in the four-candidate race for Pahrump Justice Court Department B. The result left retired towing company owner Michael Foley in first and occupational therapist Scott Oakley headed to a November runoff, turning the contest into a referendum on courtroom stability after months of turmoil around Fiore’s seat.

As of Friday, Foley held about 43 percent of the vote, Oakley had about 26 percent and Fiore trailed with about 23 percent, nearly 400 votes behind Oakley. Fiore said she spent more than six figures on the campaign, but still blamed the defeat on what she called “election interference by relentless attacks from the biased Judicial Discipline Commission, their media allies, Gavin Newsom, Washington Democrats, Vegas dark money, and their local operatives.”

Fiore’s race carried unusual weight in Nye County because she ran while suspended from the bench and facing ongoing judicial discipline proceedings. The Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline had already suspended her after a federal jury convicted her in October 2024 of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and six counts of wire fraud tied to fundraising for a statue honoring slain Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer Alyn Beck. Prosecutors said the money was used for personal expenses.

The commission filed three formal judicial misconduct charges against Fiore on April 24, and the Nevada Supreme Court later upheld her suspension. Fiore asked the high court to speed up her appeal, arguing that the suspension hurt her 2026 reelection chances, but the court declined to reverse the order. She filed for reelection on Jan. 6, during the Jan. 5-16 filing window for judicial candidates.

In her concession statement, Fiore congratulated her rivals and said, “President Trump stood with me, and thousands of strong conservatives stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us,” adding that she remained “unbowed and unbroken.” Trump pardoned Fiore after her federal fraud conviction.

The campaign drew added attention in Pahrump, where Fiore greeted voters at a pop-up tent near the Bob Ruud Community Center, the only polling location, about 200 feet from the designated electioneering area. Foley now moves into the runoff with the race recast as a test of whether Nye County voters want to keep a suspended, scandal-tainted incumbent tied to the bench, or settle the seat around a candidate with no discipline cloud hanging over the court.