Titus declares she’ll battle Porter in run for Congress

In a congressional career that has been a constant battle, Rep. Jon Porter's opponents have often been unknown quantities.

Not this time.

About 250 people were on hand Thursday evening to cheer on state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, as she announced she would run for Congress. Greeting each other like old friends, many of them wore T-shirts from her past campaigns.

"We need some fresh air in Washington," Titus said from the stage of the Henderson Amphitheatre, where she was surrounded by Democratic state legislators, party activists and union members. "We need some practical solutions. We need someone who's willing to stay late, roll up their sleeves and work hard.

"I promise, if you send me back there, that's exactly what I will do," she said, to cheers.

Titus, a 57-year-old professor of political science at UNLV, has served in the state Senate for 20 years, 15 of them as the Democratic leader. The Georgia native, whose pronounced twang remains despite decades in Nevada, is known as a forceful and effective legislator who's not afraid to raise a ruckus or to make enemies.

Because 2006 was the middle of her four-year Senate term, Titus did not have to leave the Legislature when she was the Democratic nominee for governor, a race she lost to Republican Jim Gibbons after a bruising statewide campaign. She will have to leave the Senate for this race.

Republican incumbent Porter, 52, served with Titus in the state Senate before being elected to represent Nevada's 3rd Congressional District in 2002. A former Boulder City councilman and mayor, he is the only representative the district, created after the 2000 Census, has ever known.

Titus began her comments Thursday by reflecting on the fifth anniversary of President Bush's "Mission Accomplished" declaration.

"We cannot stand idly by while more lives are lost without a plan to withdraw and to succeed," she said. "Jon Porter has done just that and worse. He has continued to support Bush's war with no accountability, no questions and no end in sight."

She added, "Jon, obviously you're not listening to the people of CD3. You're not helping us during these difficult times when we are struggling. You're helping people in Iraq but not here in Nevada. That's why it's time for you to go, and when that happens in November, it will be a real mission accomplished."

Titus made note of her "deep roots" in the area, noting family ties to Henderson and the fact that her Senate district overlaps much of the congressional district. Titus herself lives just outside the congressional district.

She painted Porter as out of touch with locals' concerns, pointing to votes she said benefited special interests and corporations rather than the middle class.

Titus is entering the race late following the sudden withdrawal earlier this week of former prosecutor Robert Daskas, who had been the Democratic establishment's candidate. She starts at a financial disadvantage to Porter, who had more than $1 million in campaign money on hand as of March 31.

In a sign of the political cachet Titus brings to the race that Daskas, a political newcomer, lacked, another Democrat who had been running for the seat, Andrew Martin, dropped out of the race and threw his support behind Titus at Thursday's announcement.

Martin, an accountant who was largely funding his campaign with his own money, said he will run for state Assembly instead.

National Democrats and Republicans are likely to invest heavily in the race, thought to be one of the most competitive in the nation this election year. Historically a closely divided swing district, the fast-growing 3rd, which incorporates mostly suburban areas of Clark County, now has nearly 23,000 more Democrats than Republicans.

In 2006, Porter survived a challenge from Tessa Hafen, a young former staffer to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. In 2004, he faced former casino executive Tom Gallagher. Both were running for office for the first time.

Just as she paints Porter as a right-winger and Bush loyalist, Republicans already are portraying Titus as a left-wing liberal. The National Republican Congressional Committee on Thursday issued a news release contending Titus would make it her mission to raise taxes if elected.

"Dina Titus is out of touch with the values of Nevada, and her long liberal record speaks for itself," committee spokeswoman Julie Shutley said. "The people of Nevada's 3rd District deserve someone who will fight for them in Washington, not someone who will fall in lockstep with the Democrats' extreme agenda of higher taxes and higher spending."

For their part, Democrats echoed Titus' arguments about Porter.

"Instead of helping the middle class, Congressman Jon Porter consistently supports tax cuts for special interests," said Yoni Cohen, spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The 3rd Congressional District deserves a member of Congress who will fight for middle-class Nevada families, not ExxonMobil, Halliburton and the HMOs."

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball@ reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2919.