House

Democratic congressional candidate Dina Titus will skip the party's national convention in Denver next week, The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting.

Titus (D-Henderson) will join her Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Jon Porter (R-Henderson) and stay in the 3rd Congressional District during their respective conventions, spokesman Andrew Stoddard told the paper.

Titus ""is going to stay in the district. She decided she could get a lot done here," Stoddard told the LVRJ.

Porter and Titus held the first debate of a hotly contested campaign Monday night in Henderson. Polls show the Democratic challenger is giving the incumbent a run for his money, and Democratic leaders believe the seat is ripe for the taking.

Elsewhere in Nevada, 2nd District Democrat Jill Derby will travel to Denver for the convention, but not without drawing criticism from the GOP, which issued a press release saying Derby was only going to the convention to cozy up to the Washington crowd.

What do steak knives, "Bum Fights" videos, and Old Yeller have in common? Find out when you see this week's list... | CLICK HERE

Congressional Quarterly  is changing its forecasts on two competitive U.S. House races in Nevada, and in both cases, there is good news for the Democrats.

CQ announced Wednesday it was shifting the 2nd Congressional District race between U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City) and Democrat Jill Derby from "Republican" to "Leans Republican," acknowledging the race is closer than previously thought.

The forecast looks even better for state Sen. Dina Titus (D-Henderson) in the 3rd Congressional District, the publication said. CQ switched Titus' race with incumbent U.S. Rep. Jon Porter (R-Henderson) from "Leans Republican" to its most competitive category: "No clear favorite."

Congressional candidate Jill Derby: Campaign Photo Democratic congressional candidate Jill Derby released a detailed energy plan Wednesday, with recommendations for reducing fuel demand, expanding renewable energy sources and expanded drilling in areas with "low environmental risk."

Derby said the nation must commit to a "Apollo-Project style investment" in renewable energy technology, specifically mentioning solar and geothermal energy as viable options.

Derby also advocated limited on-shore and off-shore oil drilling to meet demand until renewable sources become more readily available, though she stipulated drilling should only be conducted in areas that can sustain it without serious environmental damage.

Tuesday’s primary races for the U.S. House went as expected, with the favored candidates nabbing their party’s nominations and heading towards the general election.

In the 2nd Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Dean Heller (R-Carson City) and state university regent Jill Derby are headed to a rematch of their 2006 race. Heller led Ron Paul campaign activist James Smack by an 89 percent to 11 percent margin with 13.3 percent of the precincts reporting. Derby was uncontested in her primary.

“This marks the point at which this race really swings into high gear.  It’s an exciting time and we have growing momentum for our campaign here in the 2nd district,” Derby said in an email message this evening. “I have had a number of significant endorsements in recent weeks and we look forward to a race where we can address the big problems facing Nevada families.”

Hours before the polls closed in today’s primary, U.S. Rep. Jon Porter (R-Boulder City) fired back against charges that he was spending too much time away from his home district.

“I do my job and I’m proud of it,” Porter said in a telephone interview. “My success has been very clear.”

Porter said that since taking leadership in 2007, Democrats had decided to make the House follow a five-day work week. He also noted that he had made it back to the district every week.

With the three-term Porter facing what is widely seen as his toughest opponent to today in state Sen. Dina Titus (D-Henderson), there have been rumbles that the Republican has been aloof. In a recently published article titled, “Where’s Porter? Don’t ask Titus, she’s busy,” the Las Vegas Sun noted that Porter hadn’t held any campaign events and had held few public events.

A pure toss-up state, a mix of demographic issues, booming population, foreclosure crisis in the south, moral issues of importance in the north, collectivist unions that matter and Libertarian feelings that matter: Nevada is a battleground state in the battleground West.

The Pindell Report, a new Politicker.com product, even calls Nevada the No. 1 presidential swing state this cycle.

"For those who enjoyed Florida in 2000 or Ohio in 2004, meet Nevada in 2008," said James Pindell, Politicker.com's Managing Editor and author of The Pindell Report.

The Pindell Report aims to provide the country's most dynamic and richly reported ranking and analysis of U.S. Senate, U.S. House and gubernatorial races, plus presidential swing states.

Democratic congressional candidate Dina Titus with U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen at a gas station campaign stop in May.: Politicker PhotoAs election season heats up, candidates are moving into full pander mode. Thus far gas prices top the list of issues that are causing politicians of all stripes to abandon prior positions, disregard basic economic theory, and promise voters the impossible. This is not surprising given poll data indicating that voters' worries about the costs of filling up their tanks is a top concern as we move towards November.

Nonetheless, for rational-minded observers who might prefer that candidates not insult the intelligence of voters and instead present policy proposals that might actually do something to change the nation's energy policy (as opposed to offering cheap rhetoric with a shelf life lasting until, oh I don't know, right around Nov. 4), I find the whole situation nauseating. So in the spirit of the Olympics (which incidentally are occurring in China; the county whose increased demand for oil is a big factor for rising gas prices in the U.S.), I thought it would be appropriate to award medals to Nevada's best gas price panderers.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal ran a profile Monday on the ongoing Republican "shadow session" in Congress, focusing on the involvement of a pair of Nevada legislators.

Congressional Republicans, including U.S. Reps. Jon Porter (R-Henderson) and Dean Heller (R-Carson City) are in Washington despite the August recess, and both spoke last week in protest of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to take a vote on a bill to expand off-shore oil drilling.

The Review-Journal featured Porter's and Heller's remarks, and gauged the reaction back home on the two lawmakers' presence at a darkened Capitol.

"Giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys." - P.J. O'Rourke

To anyone who has worked with elected officials, the truth of P.J. O'Rourke's statement is undeniable. Fortunately for journalists, the "whiskey and car keys" analogy now carries over to political campaigns thanks to the First Amendment.

Just about anyone can run for office. From the success of the "steak knife" tag we also see that even when lacking any semblance of common sense, just about anyone can serve.

And we can call them on it when they do.