‘Conservative’ real estate investor seeks Titus’ seat in House

A man who calls himself “a conservative first, a Republican second” is the latest to jump into the race for the congressional seat held by Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev.

Real estate investor Rob Lauer said he’s the best person to carry the conservative torch against Titus, even though former state Sen. Joe Heck is considered the leading Republican in the race.

“I think Heck should go back and run for state Senate,” Lauer said. “He has a lot of experience there.”

Like Heck, a physician and Army reservist, Lauer has military experience. He is an Army MP with the 314th Military Police Company but is in the process of shifting from active reserve status to inactive reserve status, he said today.

Lauer, 39, said he will invest about $100,000 of his own money in the campaign. He has a campaign office in Las Vegas and a treasurer in Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., according to campaign documents filed with the Federal Election Commission.

According to the Nevada secretary of state’s office, the 3rd Congressional District has 198,830 registered Democrats, 159,252 Republicans and 72,658 registered as nonpartisan.

Lauer said he supports increasing the tax credit for home buyers to $10,000 from $8,000 and extending it beyond first-time purchasers to anyone buying a house.

The move would reduce the number of unsold houses and boost home prices, he said.

“Until we get through all that inventory, we are not going to see a true recovery in the housing market,” he said.

He also supports tax credits for businesses to hire employees. Lauer said he supports the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, although he criticized how both President Barack Obama and former President George W. Bush managed the fighting.

He said Bush should have sent more troops to Iraq at the outset of that war and Obama should give more consideration to military leaders in managing the Afghanistan conflict.

When asked the best way to pay for further investment in wars, Lauer said defending the nation should be a top government priority even if it means cutbacks in other areas.

“If we need to cut spending elsewhere so we can pay for these sorts of things, we need to do it,” he said.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.