Three House incumbents coast

Nevada's three members of the House of Representatives all breezed past primary challengers in Tuesday's election, setting up the general election contests for the state's congressional seats.

Rep. Jon Porter won the Republican primary in the 3rd Congressional District, while state Sen. Dina Titus won the Democratic vote. The two will face off in what is expected to be one of the nation's hottest congressional races in November for the suburban Clark County seat.

Porter won 82 percent of the vote, trouncing his little-known opponents. Businessman Jesse Law came in second with 11 percent, while school district administrator Carl Bunce had 7 percent.

Porter said Tuesday night he looked forward to a spirited campaign against Titus, with whom he served in the state Senate before being elected to Congress in 2002. Porter is seeking re-election to a fourth term.

"I've been targeted as a member of Congress since I was first elected in 2002," Porter said. "There's been $10 (million) or $11 million that's been spent by liberals from Washington to make sure I don't win, and I'm actually more inspired each time they invest in this district. I've never worked harder for the citizens of Nevada, I've never campaigned harder, and we are going to win because nobody will outwork me."

Once evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, the 3rd District has shifted over the last year, and Democrats now outnumber Republicans by more than 25,000.

In the Democratic primary, Titus took 85 percent of the vote against three opponents, all of whom also ran losing campaigns in the primary two years ago.

Convicted felon and entrepreneur Barry Michaels came in second with 9 percent of the vote, while nurse and activist Anna Nevenic had 4 percent and garbage man Carlo "Tex" Poliak had 2 percent.

Titus on Tuesday called the win a "midway hurdle" on the way to the ultimate goal.

"We're phone banking, we're precinct walking, we're raising money and meeting with organizations," she said.

A political science professor and 2006 Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Titus said she would run on a record of getting things done across party lines in the Legislature, where she was in the minority.

Titus plans to "lay out a vision based on the notion of change. We're listening to what people tell us. They are mad at this administration for the bad politics, but they're also tired of partisan bickering in Congress."

In November, Porter and Titus will face four minor-party candidates: Independent American Party candidate Floyd Fitzgibbons, Green Party candidate Bob Giaquinta, independent Jeffrey Reeves and Libertarian Party candidate Joseph Silvestri.

In the 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Dean Heller easily beat back a primary challenge from James Smack, a pawn shop owner and disciple of former presidential candidate Ron Paul. Heller had 86 percent of the vote to Smack's 14 percent.

Heller will face Democrat Jill Derby, who didn't have a primary opponent, in the general election, a rematch of the race two years ago, in which Heller beat Derby by 5 percentage points. The 2nd District is heavily Republican, but Democrats have made inroads in voter registration recently.

"It has been an honor and a privilege to serve Nevada's Second Congressional District in Congress," Heller said. "I will continue to fight for a sensible energy policy that lowers gas prices; fiscal responsibility and smaller government; and secure our nation's borders; and the enforcement of our current immigration laws."

Also on the ballot in November will be Green Party candidate Craig Bergland, Independent American Party candidate John Everhart and Libertarian Party candidate Sean Morse.

In the 1st District, which includes urban Las Vegas, Rep. Shelley Berkley easily fended off a Democratic challenger and in November will face Kenneth Wegner, the same Republican opponent she handily defeated two years ago.

Wegner, a retired Army man, won a seven-way Republican primary, emerging with 35 percent of the vote. Russ Mickelson, the nominee against Berkley in 2004, was second with 20 percent, while Chris Dyer came in third with 15 percent and four others had less than 10 percent each.

Berkley, seeking a sixth term, had 90 percent of the vote in her primary contest against Mark Budetich Jr. Independent American Party candidate Caren Alexander and Libertarian Party candidate Raymond Duensing Jr. will be on the general election ballot.

Review-Journal writer Alan Choate contributed to this report. Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.