Carrie A. Buck (born July 19, 1971) is an American educator and politician currently serving as a Republican member of the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

. She represents the

5th district District 5, 5 District or 5th District may refer to: Europe * District 5 (Zürich) * District 5, Düsseldorf * V District, Turku * Districts of Malta#District 5, District 5, an electoral district of Malta * Districts of Malta#District 5 2, Distric ...

, which covers parts of

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

and

Paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

to the south of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Clark County Clark County may refer to: *Clark County, Arkansas *Clark County, Idaho *Clark County, Illinois *Clark County, Indiana *Clark County, Kansas *Clark County, Kentucky *Clark County, Missouri *Clark County, Nevada, containing Las Vegas *Clark County, ...

Early life

Buck was born in 1971 in

Sioux City, Iowa Sioux City () is a city in Woodbury County, Iowa, Woodbury and Plymouth County, Iowa, Plymouth counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 85,797 in the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Iowa, fo ...

. She received a bachelor's of science degree in elementary education from

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

in 1995. She received a master's degree in administration and supervision from the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

in 1998 and a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from

NOVA Southeastern University Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a Private university, private research university in Florida with its main campus in Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida, Davie, Florida, United States. The university consists of 14 colleges, offering over ...

in 2006. She is married to Eric S. Buck and the couple have four children: Collen, Colbie, Branson and Barrett. She began teaching

English as a second language English as a second or foreign language refers to the use of English by individuals whose native language is different, commonly among students learning to speak and write English. Variably known as English as a foreign language (EFL), Engli ...

students at an elementary school in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, in 1996. She became the principal of C.T. Sewell Elementary School in

Henderson, Nevada Henderson is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States, about southeast of downtown Las Vegas. It is the List of cities in Nevada, 2nd most populous city in Nevada, after Las Vegas, with 317,610 residents. The city is part of the Las Vegas V ...

, during the 2005/2006 school year, when the school was ranked as one of the lowest-performing elementary schools in Nevada. She increased test scores in both math and English and won a

Milken Educator Award The Milken Educator Awards is an educator recognition program in the United States that provides unrestricted grants of $25,000 cash to teachers deemed successful, in surprise ceremonies. Created in 1985 by education reformer and philanthropist ...

when the school became a National Title I School. In 2014, she became principal of the Pinecrest Academy, a charter school in Henderson. She became president of the Pinecrest Foundation, a non-profit focusing on providing funding for charter school initiatives.

Political career

Buck first became involved in politics in 2016, when she ran against incumbent

Joyce Woodhouse Joyce Woodhouse (born 1944) is an American politician and a former member of the Nevada Senate. She represented the 5th district from 2006 to 2010 and then from 2012 to 2019, when she became unable to run for re-election due to term limits. Ear ...

in the

2016 Nevada State Senate election The 2016 Nevada Senate election took place as part of the biennial United States elections. Nevada voters elected state senators in 11 of the state senate's 21 districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Nevada Senate. A primary ele ...

s as the Republican candidate for the

. She lost by fewer than 500 votes and was considered as a potential candidate to replace Woodhouse in 2017 in a potential recall, but the effort failed to gain traction. By narrowly defeating Democratic opponent Kristee Watson, Buck became the only candidate to flip a State Senate seat from Democratic to Republican in the 2020 Nevada State Senate elections. As a state senator, Buck has proposed a bill that would have offered up to $10 million in tax credits for charter school donors to better fund facilities at Title I public charter schools.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Carrie 1971 births 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century members of the Nevada Legislature Living people Montana State University alumni Nova Southeastern University alumni People from Sioux City, Iowa Republican Party Nevada state senators University of Phoenix alumni Women state legislators in Nevada