Nevada Reps. Dina Titus, Mark Amodei cruise to re-election

Reps. Dina Titus, a Democrat, and Mark Amodei, a Republican, cruised to re-election Tuesday.

Titus, seeking a fifth term, was challenged by Republican Joyce Bentley in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Las Vegas and the Strip.

A former UNLV professor, Titus was declared a winner over Bentley, a former Realtor and small-business owner, 65.5 percent to 31.7 percent as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Amodei also was seeking a fifth term representing Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District and defeated Democrat Clint Coble, a former state director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency under President Barack Obama.

Amodei was leading Coble, 58.6 percent to 41.5 percent as of 1 a.m. Wednesday.

The 2nd Congressional District, which covers the northern half of the state and includes Reno, Carson City and Elko, is a Republican stronghold, although the region has seen growth in Democratic voters with California migration.

Amodei is a member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which pulls the purse strings for all federal spending.

Titus is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which has oversight over aviation and road and bridge construction. A House takeover by Democrats would make Titus the most likely member to become chairwoman of the Transportation subcommittee on buildings.

Bentley launched a challenge to Titus using President Donald Trump’s campaign slogan to “Make America Great Again.”

Titus also drew opponents in the Democratic-drawn district from Daniel Garcia, an Independent American Party member, and Robert Van Strawder, a Libertarian.

Contact Gary Martin at gmartin@reviewjournal.com or 202-662-7390. Follow @garymartindc on Twitter.