GOP lacks ammo for Titus fight

Roll Call makes an astute observation about Rep. Dina Titus today: With so many battles to fight in 2010, Nevada Republicans have not made defeating the freshman Democrat a priority.

Privately, members of the state GOP admit they are going to have to pick their fights next year. Control of the Legislature and the governor’s mansion has to be a priority with redistricting coming up, they say, while the national party would like to put the emphasis on giving Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid a run for his money.

“Considering Rep. Dina Titus (D) won her suburban Las Vegas seat with less than 50 percent of the vote in 2008, one would think Nevada Republicans would be jumping at the chance to knock off the freshman Congresswoman in 2010,” Roll Call’s John McArdle writes.

“Yet six months after she knocked off then-Rep. Jon Porter (R), Titus seems to be flying under the radar, and no GOP candidate has yet stepped forward to challenge her next cycle. Perhaps that’s because state Republicans have bigger fish to fry.”

Titus, a political science professor, makes the point herself: “I think the focus really is on the governor’s race because that’s the one that will make a difference with a Democratically controlled legislature and with redistricting,” she is quoted as saying. “So until (Republicans) get that settled and maybe find somebody to run against Harry, I think we’re third on the list.”

The piece also notes that things have changed since Porter represented a perennially divided district. These days, Democrats enjoy a voter registration advantage of about 40,000.