EDITORIAL: For Congress

Democrats are eyeing a takeover of the U.S. Senate in this volatile election year and holding the Nevada seat being vacated by the retiring Harry Reid is a key part of their strategy. Sen. Reid’s hand-picked successor, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, faces Republican Joe Heck, who has represented Nevada in the U.S. House for three terms.

Few politicians can match Rep. Heck’s impressive resume. He is a medical doctor and is a brigadier general in the U.S. Army Reserve. Rep. Heck was last deployed to the Middle East in 2008 when he commanded a Baghdad-area combat hospital. He offers a moderate and sensible viewpoint on most issues and has made it a priority to improve health care in rural Nevada. His experience in the medical field and the military would be a welcome asset to the upper chamber, as would be his willingness to reach out across the aisle to find common ground.

Ms. Cortez Masto, meanwhile, shows no such inclination. She has long operated as a liberal partisan, even disobeying Nevada law when the governor directed her as attorney general to join a coalition of states opposed to Obamacare. During her time as the state’s top law enforcement officer, her decisions too often wreaked of politics, culminating in her indictment — eventually dismissed by a judge — of a sitting Republican lieutenant governor on the flimsiest of charges.

Joe Heck is the far superior candidate.

In Southern Nevada’s three congressional races, two incumbents seek re-election while two hopefuls look to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Heck.

In Nevada’s 1st Congressional District, Democrat Dina Titus, campaigning for a third term, faces a challenge from Republican Mary Perry, an attorney. Rep. Titus has a long background in Silver State politics and is a former political science professor at UNLV. She’s a strong supporter of open government and sunshine laws and has worked during her time in Washington to improve health care for veterans. We don’t agree with Rep. Titus on a variety of issues, but she’s honest, dedicated and intelligent, has a fierce independent streak and will look out for Nevada’s interests. The Review-Journal recommends a vote for Dina Titus.

Democrat Jacky Rosen and Republican Danny Tarkanian each seeks to represent Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat that opened up when Rep. Heck opted to run for the U.S. Senate. Mr. Tarkanian is a fiscal conservative who supports tax reform and vows to represent the “people who don’t have a voice.” He favors the repeal of the sputtering Obamacare and advocates securing our borders as the first step in any immigration reform proposal. Danny Tarkanian is our choice.

In Nevada’s 4th Congressional District, incumbent Cresent Hardy is running for a second term against Democrat Ruben Kihuen, a state senator. Rep. Hardy has his work cut out for him in this Democratic-leaning district, but he has the correct instincts on fiscal and regulatory policy. He is a friend to small business and has worked to secure federal funding for Nevada highway projects. He also recognizes that the Beltway bureaucrats control too much land in the Silver State. We endorse Cresent Hardy.