She was a Republican member of the Nevada Senate, representing Clark County District 8 (map) from 2002 to 2014.
Previously, she served in the Nevada Assembly from 1996 to 2001.
According to her legislative biography, she was educated at Mayo High School in Rochester, Minnesota, and at Clark County Community College (now known as the College of Southern Nevada) in Las Vegas.
With her husband, Tim, she was a 7-11 convenience store franchisee for thirteen years before seeking political office.Cegavske is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), serving as Nevada state leader in 2012.Cegavske ran for Secretary of State of Nevada in 2014 and won against the term limited incumbent state treasurer Kate Marshall.
She supports Voter ID laws and opposes same-day voter registration and voting.
Following the 2018 elections after defeating Nelson Araujo, she is currently the only Republican holding statewide elected office in Nevada.
She and Wesley Duncan (who lost to Aaron Ford) were the only Republicans to win Washoe County by a slim margin and not Clark County.