Three Nevada US House seats remain under Democratic control as incumbents fend off GOP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Three U.S. House seats in Nevada will remain under Democratic control after the incumbents won reelection Thursday.

The Associated Press has declared Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford winners in their respective races. Nevada’s lone Republican Congressman, Mark Amodei, cruised to victory Tuesday night.

Nevada’s tight Senate race, meanwhile, was still too early to call on Thursday.

Lee won reelection in what is widely considered Nevada’s most competitive district that includes a large swath of the culturally diverse Spring Valley neighborhood in Las Vegas and more rural areas.

“When I return to Washington,” Lee said in a statement, “I will continue my work to lower costs, create jobs, protect our freedoms, strengthen national security, and secure even more investments for our local water supply and infrastructure.”

Lee first won the seat in 2018, succeeding Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. This year, she defeated conservative policy analyst Drew Johnson. The Associated Press emailed his campaign seeking comment Thursday.

Horsford, a four-term congressman who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, defeated former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee in a competitive district that stretches north from Las Vegas, toward rural Nye County in the west and along the Utah border in the eastern portion of the district.

“I’m committed to working tirelessly for every constituent from Nye to Clark County and everywhere in between,” Horsford said in a statement.

For Titus, it was the second election in a row that she defeated Republican Mark Robertson, a retired Army colonel, to keep her seat in the Las Vegas district she has represented for more than a decade. Republican-leaning suburban areas were folded into the district after boundaries were redrawn, making it a GOP target.

Titus had declared victory on Wednesday as the vote count leaned in her favor, and thanked voters for allowing her to serve another term.

“I will press for my legislation to create more affordable housing, combat the effects of extreme heat, and create good union jobs like building Brightline,” she said, referencing the high-speed rail that will connect Las Vegas to the Los Angeles area. “I also will resist any effort to overturn the Affordable Care Act and defend seniors against any move to reduce Social Security and Medicare benefits.”

Titus is the longest-serving member of the Nevada delegation in Washington. She was elected in 2013 to represent District 1, which includes the Las Vegas Strip, part of suburban Henderson and Boulder City. She has been reelected every two years.

In 2022, Titus defeated Robertson by more than 5 percentage points, but Democrats sacrificed part of her traditional stronghold during redistricting in exchange for some Democratic party gains in neighboring swing districts. That made Titus more vulnerable in the race.

Robertson has never held political office and echoes policies favored by President-elect Donald Trump on border security, inflation and the economy. Telephone and email messages seeking comment were left for Robertson and his campaign Thursday.

Horsford, meanwhile, became the first Black person to represent Nevada in Congress when he was elected to the House in 2012. He lost in 2014 but now has won in four straight elections.

Horsford defeated John Lee, a former Democrat, who switched parties and ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for governor.

“It was a good race,” John Lee said in a brief phone call with the AP. “I’m looking forward to Trump bringing this nation back around.” ___

Associated Press writer Anita Snow in Phoenix contributed to this report.