Horsford routs Tarkanian for 4th District seat

Democrat Steven Horsford continued his political ascendancy Tuesday, handily beating Republican Danny Tarkanian in Nevada's new 4th Congressional District and becoming the state's first black member of Congress.

Horsford led Tarkanian with more than half of the ballots cast in the district, which was created as a result of redistricting after the 2010 census.

The district includes northern Clark County, with urban areas in North Las Vegas and Las Vegas, and large swaths of rural Nevada in Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral, Nye and White Pine counties.

The outlying areas are heavily tilted toward Republicans, but urban Democrats far outnumber them, 141,243 to 100,199. There are 51,124 nonpartisans.

Tarkanian managed to hang on to a slight but consistent lead in polls during the campaign despite built-in advantages for Horsford.

But when the ballots were cast, Horsford defied the pollsters. He brought Democrats home and benefited from relatively large turnouts for Libertarian candidate Joe Silvestri and Independent American candidate Floyd Fitzgibbons, who at deadline were drawing more than 8 percent of the vote.

"We made history again," Horsford said during a victory speech at Mandalay Bay. "Nevadans took to the polls today and made their voices heard."

He thanked unions and other supporters and recalled his childhood growing up in the district.

"I will never forget who I am, where I came from and who I'm fighting for," he said.

Tarkanian said Horsford's campaign clearly outperformed his when it came to getting out voters, particularly in urban areas.

"I'm not sure what happened from a campaign standpoint," he said. "The Democratic Party in Clark County had a great showing."

Tarkanian also said he is getting out of politics: "My family and I are going to step out away from it and move on with our lives."

Horsford's victory over Tarkanian was decisive, although he performed several points below what the registration advantage would suggest.

"That shouldn't be that way," said Mark Peplowski, College of Southern Nevada political science professor. The dynamic is "unheard of when you have a Republican who has never been elected to office."

Before this campaign, Horsford, 39, was seen by some as a rising star in the Democratic Party.

He was the Nevada Senate's first black majority leader, holding that post in the 2009 and 2011 legislative sessions. During that time he established himself as an outspoken advocate for education spending, public employee unions and programs for the poor.

He also served as foil to Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons and his successor, Republican Brian Sandoval.

During both sessions as leader, Horsford advocated for taxes to increase spending on education and other programs. In the most recent session, he championed a proposed $1.2 billion increase funded by business taxes but settled for an agreement with Sandoval to extend the life of about $600 million in existing taxes.

The tax issue and some controversial decisions, such as accepting a junket to the Bahamas from an Internet poker company with business before the Legislature and a fundraiser invitation that offered access to Democratic law­makers based on contribution amounts, hurt Horsford.

"There is a lot of opposition research on Horsford because he screwed the pooch a number of times," Peplowski said.

David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Tarkanian was quick to point out Horsford's shortcomings.

Tarkanian was coming off a competitive primary with state Sen. Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, and quickly shifted his focus to Horsford.

Meanwhile, the Democrat was slow to hit back, Damore said.

"They really got caught sleeping in that district," he said. "I think he fell into the trap a lot of folks do, looking at registration numbers."

Tarkanian, 50, was seeking office for the fourth time after unsuccessful runs for state Senate, secretary of state and U.S. Senate. The race against Horsford was portrayed by critics as one last grasp for elective office by Tarkanian, the son of iconic former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian.

In his most recent previous campaign, the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 2010, Tarkanian ran to the right in an effort to position himself in a crowded field of candidates seeking to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Tarkanian ran into problems of his own in this campaign. His biggest headache was a $17 million judgment against him and his family for a real estate deal gone bad. The judgment, which originated with a defunct bank and is now owed to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, could force the family into bankruptcy.

It was the biggest target on Tarkanian's back, attracting fire even from Reid, who at one point held a conference call with reporters to criticize the bad business deal as an example of why the Republican is unfit for office.

Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.