The inhabitants of District 8 are also better-educated and wealthier than the state at-large, with a median household income of $65,000 compared to $53,000 statewide, and a poverty rate of 10%.

After the 2016 election, Republican incumbent Patricia Farley announced her intention to switch her party registration to nonpartisan and caucus with Democrats for the 2017 legislative session.

In 2014, term-limited incumbent Republican Barbara Cegavske successfully ran for Nevada Secretary of State.

[10] Republican Patricia Farley, Democrat Marilyn Dondero Loop, and Independent American Jon Kamerath ran to succeed her in what the Las Vegas Review-Journal called one of "three critical seats which [would] decide which party [would control] the Senate.

[12] For Democrats, Loop, an assemblywoman and former teacher, was challenged by Garrett LeDuff, whose opposition the Las Vegas Review-Journal called "token.

[17] The polls successfully predicted the winner, but underestimated the margin; Farley defeated Loop 57-39%.

It was originally a north–south district stretching from Spring Valley up towards North-Central Las Vegas, but has shifted westward as the population has grown.