Hispanic Democrats endorse Titus for re-election

Nevada Hispanic leaders and lawmakers on Monday endorsed U.S. Rep. Dina Titus’s re-election campaign, saying she has long been a strong ally of the Latino community.

The endorsements from Latin Chamber of Commerce President Otto Merida, a Republican, and several Democratic members of the state Assembly and Senate come as no surprise.

But the public display of Latino support sent a signal to Titus’ Republican opponent, attorney Jose Padilla, that he may have a tough time gaining backing from Hispanic leaders who might otherwise be pleased to see a member of their community in the race.

In fact, in 2012, many of the same Latino leaders at first endorsed state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, D-Las Vegas, for Congressional District 1 until he dropped out in the face of a poll that showed Titus would trounce him in the Democratic primary. The leaders then switched their allegiance to Titus.

On Monday, Kihuen was among those supporting her in the district, which is more than 2-to-1 Democratic by registration.

“Dina has always been there for the Latino community,” Kihuen said.

He said he had served with Titus for two legislative sessions, 2007 and 2009, when she was Senate minority leader. He praised Titus for being one of the first members of Congress to “publicly call out” President Barack Obama for his administration’s deportation policy.

His administration has deported nearly 2 million people.

Titus said she is hopeful that comprehensive immigration reform will pass this year now that GOP leadership has said Republicans want to pass immigration reform, too. The battle will be whether to pass separate bills in piecemeal fashion as the GOP wishes and whether undocumented immigrants will be offered a path to U.S. citizenship or just legalization.

Asked if she would accept legalization, or “half a loaf,” if that is all Republicans will agree to, Titus said she wanted to first consult the Hispanic community. She said ideally citizenship would be best and not “second class” legalization.

“I’m not going to take up that position because I haven’t given up on the hope that we’ll get comprehensive immigration reform,” Titus said.

The congresswoman thanked those who endorsed her, saying she has known most of the Hispanic leaders for years.

“I just feel at home here,” Titus said.

The leaders who endorsed Titus included Kihuen, Merida, and Democratic Assembly members Lucy Flores and Irene Bustamante Adams. State Senate Majority Leader Mo Denis, a Democrat, also backed Titus along with community leaders Eloiza Martinez, Luis Valera, Tony Sanchez and Nora Luna.

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Coffin, a fellow Democrat, said he would pay Titus’ candidate filing fee as he has done each election cycle since 1986. She pays his fee when he runs.