Titus Passes on Rematch Against Heck
Former Nevada Democratic Rep. Dina Titus announced today that she'll be running for Congress again but passing up an opportunity to seek a rematch against Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.
Instead, Titus will be running for the solidly-Democratic 1st District seat being vacated by Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. (Berkley is running for the Senate.) Titus's decision sets up a competitive Democratic primary with state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, who also announced he was running in the 1st District last week.
Titus' decision was expected. She lives in the 1st District and if she wins the primary, she'd be a heavy favorite to return to Congress. But she faces a tough battle for the nomination against Kihuen, an up-and-coming Latino state senator who views the district's demographics as giving him an edge. Nearly 40 percent of the district is Hispanic, and that number has been growing fast.
"I've been in a primary before. It's hard when it's in the family, but whenever there's an open seat, there could be a primary," Titus told the Las Vegas Sun last week. "I don't think anyone wants to run against me. I've got a good record, solid support with the base."
Some Democratic officials wanted Titus to run against Heck, to avoid the prospect of two leading candidates running against each other in a safely Democratic seat - instead of taking on a potentially-vulnerable Republican. Under the newly-proposed lines, Obama would have won 54 percent of the vote in Heck's district.
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