Horsford, Titus file for re-election

U.S. Reps. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., and Dina Titus, D-Nev., filed for re-election today.

Neither incumbent faces any serious Democratic competition, although Republicans are vying to unseat them both.

“Here we go again — round two,” said Horsford, a freshman seeking a second two-year term.

Horsford said that his office has helped Nevadans get about $1.5 million in benefits, from Social Security and veterans payments to small business loans and Internal Revenue Service payments. He said he would continue to be focused on constituent services if re-elected.

“Nevadans deserve someone who will stand up, fight for them and prioritize their needs,” Horsford said.

Horsford has been working on land bills that would boost tourism and the economy in Nevada, including a bill to designate Tule Springs a national monument. Proposed GOP amendments to the bill have delayed the legislation but Horsford said he has been assured by leaders on the House Natural Resources Committee that the bill will be moved.

The congressman said he also is pushing to extend unemployment benefits, which 26,000 Nevadans have lost so far. Horsford, 40, enjoys a Democratic voter registration advantage of nearly 12 percentage points over Republicans in his vast Congressional District 4. But his GOP foes have a chance to defeat him if Republicans turn out in large numbers for the Nov. 4 general election.

The district covers the northern part of Clark County and part of Lyon County as well as all of five other rural counties: Esmeralda, Lincoln, Mineral, Nye and White Pine.

Horsford, a former Nevada Senate Majority Leader, grew up in North Las Vegas, which he still represents.

The GOP primary is highly competitive for CD4 with Assemblyman Cresent Hardy, R-Mesquite, going up against Niger Innis, a civil rights advocate seeking his first public office. Hardy, a small businessman who worked in construction for two decades, is a fifth generation Nevadan. Innis moved to Las Vegas in 2007 from New York City.

Titus, 63, is expected to easily win re-election in Congressional District 1, which is two-to-one Democratic by voter registration over Republicans. The district is centered on urban Las Vegas.

“I’m running for re-election because there is still much work to be done to improve our economy and create new jobs,” Titus said. “I will continue to work to expand opportunities for all Southern Nevadans.”

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin, who served with Titus in the Nevada Legislature, paid her $300 filing fee, a tradition between the two.

More than half a dozen constituents whom Titus has helped also joined her at the Clark County Elections Department to show their support.

Titus previously represented the swing Congressional District 3 in Southern Nevada, but was defeated in 2010 after one term by U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.

The two Republicans competing for the GOP nomination in the June 10 primary for CD1 are attorney Jose Padilla and Dr. Annette Teijeiro, both Hispanics seeking their first public office. Teijeiro lost a state Senate race in 2012.

Candidate filing opened on March 3 and closes at 5 p.m. this Friday.

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.