Congressional candidate to speak at Monday's Democratic luncheon

The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Elizabeth Mercedes Krause, Democratic candidate for Nevada District 2 of the US House of Representatives. In the June 14 Democratic primary, Mercedes came in first with 47% of the vote out of a field of seven candidate. In the November 8 four-way general election, she will face off against Republican incumbent Mark Amodei as well as Independent American Russell Best and Libertarian Darryl Baber. Early voting begins on Saturday, October 22nd.

Elizabeth Mercedes Krause was born in Las Vegas. She earned a bachelor's degree from UNLV in 2001. She then attended Montana State University in Bozeman and earned a master's in educational leadership from Concordia University in 2016, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership and policy.

Mercedes has been affiliated with the following organizations:

Nevada Minority Affairs Commission
Nevada Native Caucus
NEA-SN Hispanic Caucus
ACLU Nevada
NV Muslim Caucus
Nevada State Education Association

Mercedes' family has lived in Nevada for generations. She is a proud dual-citizen of the Oglala, Lakota Nation. She graduated from both Emerge Nevada and Advance Native Leadership. She holds a bachelor’s in Elementary Education and a master's in Administrative Leadership with a focus on American Indian Education. She has over 20 years of teaching experience and is co-founder of the non-profit Indigenous Educators Empowerment.

An active union member for as long as she's been an educator, Mercedes serves as Education Committee co-chair with the Nevada Minority Affairs Commission. She has also held leadership positions with the Clark County Native American Caucus, the Native American Alumni Club at UNLV, and the Las Vegas Indian Center. She was a member of the inaugural Superintendent's Advisory Committee with the Nevada Department of Education. She is bi-lingual in English and Spanish thanks to her roots in Belen, New Mexico.

Long an advocate for initiatives that benefit all Nevada communities, including indigenous peoples, Mercedes puts special emphasis upon issues important to diverse communities, especially the 18 of 27 tribal communities which reside inside the boundaries of CD2.

Mercedes told Ballotpedia that her family instilled in her a respect for the inherent dignity of every person, though many find it hard to carry themselves with dignity when they are unable to care for their families despite working hard. Today one in seven Nevadans live in poverty, so she believes we need to support living wages, "wages that afford a safe home, healthful food, healthcare, and the ability for Nevada families to care for their children."

"Enough is enough," Mercedes told Ballotpedia. "We must demand that Nevada rise from its position of 48th in the nation in our education ranking. It is time to stop talking and fund our education system so that students can learn safely, and so that EVERY STUDENT IN NEVADA has the same opportunities. We are better than this."

"Nevadans should be able to afford safe housing and have a path to homeownership. The cost of living is above our current salary base. A new balance must be created."

Mercedes' identifies The Alchemist by Paolo Cuelo as her favorite book because it reminds us to continue to refine ourselves so that we can serve our highest purpose and meet our highest goals.

Sponsored by the Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Monday, October 17th, and can be attended either in person at Black Bear Diner, inside Max Casino, or online via Zoom. The presentation will begin after all the lunch orders have been taken, around 1:30. Those wishing to be on distribution for luncheon Zoom links should contact Rich Dunn at richdunn@aol.com.