Carrie Buck

Biography & Campaign Analysis

Background

Carrie Buck, whose full name is Carrie Ann Buck, was born on July 19, 1971, in Sioux City, Iowa. She received a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Montana State University in 1995, a master's degree in administration and supervision from the University of Phoenix in 1998, and a doctorate in organizational leadership from NOVA Southeastern University in 2006. She is married to Eric S. Buck, and the couple have four children.

Career

Buck began her career in 1996 teaching English as a second language students at an elementary school in Las Vegas.

During the 2005 to 2006 school year she became principal of C.T. Sewell Elementary School in Henderson, which was then ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in Nevada; she raised test scores in math and English and won a Milken Educator Award when the school became a National Title I School.

In 2014 she became principal of Pinecrest Academy, a charter school in Henderson, and she later became president of the Pinecrest Foundation, a non-profit that provides funding for charter school initiatives.

Buck first ran for office in 2016 as the Republican candidate in the 5th Nevada Senate district, losing to incumbent Joyce Woodhouse by fewer than 500 votes.

In 2020 she narrowly defeated Democrat Kristee Watson for the same seat, becoming the only candidate that year to flip a Nevada Senate seat from Democratic to Republican. Her district covers parts of Henderson and Paradise south of Las Vegas.

As a state senator she proposed a bill that would have offered up to $10 million in tax credits for charter school donors to fund facilities at Title I public charter schools.

2026 race

Carrie Buck announced her campaign for Nevada's 1st congressional district in early 2025, challenging Democratic incumbent Dina Titus, who was re-elected with 52.0% of the vote in 2024.

The district extends from inner Las Vegas toward its southeastern suburbs and rural parts of Clark County, including Paradise, Henderson and Boulder City.

Buck won the Republican primary over a field that included Marie Encar Arnold, 2024 candidates Jim Blockey and Michael Boris, and former health services executive Rick Saga. She faces Titus in the general election on November 3, 2026.