Ruben Kihuen won’t seek recount in Las Vegas City Council race

Former U.S. Rep. Ruben Kihuen will not seek a recount after his bid for Las Vegas City Council fell just five votes shy of advancing to the June general election, his campaign consultant said Wednesday.

Mark Fierro, president of Fierro Communications, told the Review-Journal that in addition to not pursuing a new tally of primary election ballots, Kihuen also called former Assemblywoman Olivia Diaz and congratulated her for earning the most votes Tuesday night in the race for Ward 3.

Kihuen did not respond to messages Tuesday night.

Diaz garnered 33 percent of 3,065 total votes cast in the district, according to unofficial results from the Clark County Elections Office. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs project manager Melissa Clary, who will battle Diaz in the June 11 run-off election, received 28.25 percent of the vote, surging from behind to best Kihuen by an 866-861 count.

None of four other challengers secured more than 4 percent of the ballots.

Contact Shea Johnson at sjohnson@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0272. Follow @Shea_LVRJ on Twitter.