Jacky Rosen secures Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District seat

Jacky Rosen locked in the 3rd Congressional District seat early Wednesday with a margin of slightly more than 1 point, becoming the first Democratic candidate in six years to be elected in that district.

Rosen won with 47.23 percent of the vote, while Republican opponent Danny Tarkanian garnered 45.9 percent of the vote, according to final, unofficial results.

The race was for an open seat because its incumbent, U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., opted to run for the Senate seat of retiring Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. Heck lost the Senate race to Catherine Cortez Masto, a former Nevada attorney general. Heck was elected three times to two-year terms in the congressional state, starting in 2010.

With a razor-thin margin and ballots still uncounted late Tuesday, neither side claimed victory or conceded on election night. On Wednesday morning, Rosen issued a statement about her win, thanking supporters and Reid for backing her run for office.

“Our government should fundamentally be about the people, your dreams, your hopes, your challenges, and our collective future,” said Rosen, who was elected to office for the first time. “For too long, a dysfunctional Congress has forgotten that. In the aftermath of this divisive and often ugly campaign season, I hope that every person elected tonight will remember that behind every problem, there are people back home who are suffering.”

Tarkanian’s campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

The 3rd District starts from the Las Vegas metropolitan area’s southern edge and stretches south through Clark County’s rural, outlying areas, including Searchlight and Laughlin.

Two other candidates shaved off a sliver of votes. David Goossen, an independent candidate, received 3 percent, and Warren Markowitz, an Independent American Party candidate, received 3.7 percent.

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.