Nevada's incumbent U.S. House members draw challengers

LAS VEGAS — Nevada's four members of the U.S. House are all seeking reelection this year, but more than three dozen people have filed this month to run against them.

Two members of Nevada's congressional delegation, Democrat Dina Titus and Republican Mark Amodei, are not expected to face major challenges in the June 9 primary elections or winning their seats again in November. Both are popular and represent congressional districts with voter registration numbers that heavily favor their political parties.

Contests are expected to be much closer in two Las Vegas-area congressional districts currently held by Democrats.

A look at how the contests are shaping up:

Nevada's 1st District:

Titus has held this seat, which represents central Las Vegas and the casino-lined Strip, since 2012. Her Democratic challengers include Anthony Thomas Jr., a security guard, and Allen Rheinhart, who unsuccessfully challenged Catherine Cortez Masto in a Democratic primary for Senate but won only 6% of the vote. Four Republicans have also filed to run for the seat, including Joyce Bentley, whom Titus beat by 35 percentage points in 2018. Other Republicans include Citlaly Larios-Elias, Josh Elliott, and Eddie Hamilton.

Nevada's 2nd District

Amodei, who has represented Reno and northern Nevada since 2011, has drawn two lesser-known Republican challengers, Joel Beck and Jesse Hurley. Amodei in 2018 handily defeated a more well-known tea party favorite, Sharron Angle, along with his Democratic challenger, former Obama administration official Clint Koble. Though Republicans hold a major voter registration advantage in the district, seven Democrats have filed to run in the seat, including Koble. Other Democrats include former journalist Ed Cohen, retired business owner Rick Shepherd, mountaineer Patricia Ackerman, Reynaldo Hernandez, Ian Luetkehans and Steve Schiffman.

Nevada's 3rd District

Nevada's most competitive race for Congress this year is the 3rd Congressional District covering southwest Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City and extends to the state lines with California and Arizona. Incumbent Democrat Susie Lee won the seat in 2018 by 9% points, but her district was also won in 2016 by President Donald Trump, whose supporters are expected to turn out again this year. Two Democrats, Dennis Sullivan and Tiffany Watson, have filed to challenge the well-funded Lee in the primary election but have not yet started fundraising, according to Federal Election Commission reports. Six Republicans are competing for the GOP nomination, including former state treasurer Dan Schwartz and former professional wrestler Dan Rodimer, who has been endorsed by U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. Other GOP contenders include Brian Nadell, Corwin Newberry, Mindy Robinson and Victor Willert.

Nevada's 4th District

Nevada's 4th Congressional District, which extends north of Las Vegas through several rural counties, is a swing district that leans Democratic. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford held the seat from 2013 to 2015 and won it back in 2018. Five lesser known candidates have filed to run against Horsford in the Democratic primary: George Brucato, Christopher Colley, Gabrielle d'Ayr, Jennifer Eason and Gregory Kempton. None of those Democrats have filed reports to show they have started fundraising, while Horsford's most recent campaign finance reports show his campaign has more than $1 million in the bank. On the GOP side, eight Republican have stepped forward, including former Nevada Assemblyman Jim Marchant, Nye County Commissioner Leo Blundo, business owner and former Miss Nevada Lisa Song Sutton. Other Republicans who filed include Charles Navarro, Rosalie Bingham, Sam Peters, Randi Reed and Rebecca Wood.