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August 23rd, 2023 Political Note #583 Dina Titus Nevada 01
2024 General Election
Dina Titus may be the only Democratic politician in Nevada who did not owe a debt of gratitude to Harry Reid. You remember Harry Reid. He was the Senate Majority Leader for a while, known for being as tough as you would expect from a former boxer and former capitol hill cop who made it to the Senate the hard way.
Harry Reid did arrange one appointment for Dina Titus – a six year term beginning in 2010 on the US Civil Rights Commission. In the 2010s there was no glory to being on the Commission, just work. She thanked Harry Reid and got on with the work. At her first meeting, she was able to vote to end the previously Republican dominated Commission’s investigation of the Black Panther Party and to enter into a little verbal combat with the outgoing Republican Chair Abigail Thernstrom. Those conversations were probably not friendly or particularly salty.
Dina Titus’s response to the Nevada state legislature about redistricting for the 2022 race certainly was salty. She had, for or ten years, since the redistricting that went into effect for 2012, a safe Democratic seat. She particularly valued her safe seat since she had ousted a Republican in 2008 and was, in term, ousted in 2010. She understood the problems of having a seat that was competitive.
The state legislature, where she had spent 20 years before running for Congress, took a risk for her and for Nevada Democrats when they made Dina Titus vulnerable for 2022. She told an AFL-CIO town hall “I totally got fucked by the legislature on my district.” She added, “I’m sorry to say it like that, but I don’t know any other way to say it.”
In 2022, the risk proved to be worth it. The legislature had ensured the Democrats would keep, for two years at least, three of the four Nevada Congressional Seats. Dina Titus was elected 51.6 – 46, with a margin of less than 12,000 votes. Her colleague Susie Lee in NV 03 had a closer race: 52 – 48 and a margin of 10,000 votes. Steve Horsford NV 04 had a pretty close race, too: 52.4 – 47.6 with a margin of less than 11,000 votes. The Nevada Republican congressman had votes to spare, winning 59.7 – 37.8, with a margin of nearly 70,000. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is closer to being in the majority if there continues to be three Congressmen from Nevada.
Should we be worried about Dina Titus in 2024? Unlike 2022, she does not have a primary opponent running to her left. Dina Titus has been called a moderate Democrat. She supported the Affordable Care Act reluctantly and supported off shore drilling (an easy position to take from Nevada, which, for this purpose is a dry state). On cultural issues, she has been progressive. She supported same sex marriage and the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. She is visibly a Greek-American – advocating for Greek interests such as the unification of Cyprus and for instruction in ancient history in schools. Consider her more of an eclectic Democrat than a moderate one.
Dina Titus has been a distinctive character her entire life. She grew up in Georgia and never graduated from high school. After attending a summer program at the College of William & Mary she simply enrolled as an undergraduate. She got her BA from William & Mary, a Master’s degree from the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in history from Florida State. She came to Nevada to be an academic, to teach at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.
Like most academics, Dina Titu wrote a book. Her book, Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics, had some political impact at the time and might be worth reading while the rest of us are watching the Oppenheimer film. Dina Titus became an opponent to nuclear waste storage in the Yucca Flats of Nevada and described herself as an environmentalist. Her husband is also an academic. Here is the title of one of his books: State Terrorism in Latin America: Chile, Argentina, and International Human Rights. Maybe Dina Titus really did belong on the US Civil Rights Commission.
Dina Titus will probably face the man she defeated in 2022, Mark Robertson. He is the only Republican to have announced a candidacy so far. Retired from the reserves as an Army Colonel, he has been the managing partner of a financial planning and wealth management firm for more than 20 years. He introduces his views on his website with DEFEND FREEDOM expressed in 70 point letters. He exclaims that “Our freedom is under attack.” That he defended America overseas and promises to defend America in Washington. He advocates a balanced budget constitutional amendment, increased choice in education, modernizing the armed forces, and setting term limits for those in Congress. He is certain that if Americans return to traditional values, we will stop using harmful drugs.
We need Dina Titus in Congress. In a swing state that elected a Republican governor in 2022, she and her fellow Democratic Members of Congress are a bulwark for protecting democracy as we know it. Help her get reelected.
Four Vulnerable Democratic Incumbents in the Southwest
First Term Incumbent Gabe Vasquez New Mexico 02 is #1 on Len’s List of vulnerable Democrats. Former Congresswoman Yvette Herrell wants her job back. See Len’s Political Note #536
First Term Incumbent and Pediatrician Yadira Caraveo Colorado 08 is #2 on Len’s List of vulnerable Democrats. Though there are several possible candidates, only one, a county commissioner has announced. See Len’s Political Note #537
Third Term Incumbent Susie Lee Nevada 03 is #13 on Len’s List of vulnerable Democrats. A Republican former state senator and a conservative political columnist have announced. See Len’s Political Note #533
Fourth Term Incumbent Steve Horsford Nevada 04 is #15 on Len’s List of vulnerable Democrats. He does not have an opponent yet. See Len’s Political Note #568
Nevada’s US Senator is among the most vulnerable incumbent Democratic Senators.
First Term Incumbent Jacky Rosen is truly a regular citizen gone to Washington. Except Harry Reid spotted her as a synagogue president with a distinctive capacity to listen to others and make them feel at ease. He persuaded her to run for Congress and then for the US Senate. Three Republicans have announced – two very wealthy candidates plus an extreme right wing figure. See Len’s Political Note #564
