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The 2022 Nevada Congressional Election: A Review

As the 2022 midterm results for the United States House of Representatives were being tallied, it became evident that dozens of races were going down to the wire. In Nevada, there were three competitive US House races; because of the Democratic controlled legislature’s decision to draw a Democratic gerrymander, it put the party at risk of being wiped out at the congressional level, much to the chagrin of some of the state’s congressional delegation.

However, gerrymander worked as expected, as Democratic representatives narrowly maintained their congressional advantage against their Republican challengers, despite Republicans winning the state’s House vote. This article will only focus on the state’s three competitive districts.

Nevada election results

DistrictRepublicanDemocratThird PartyTotalRepublicanDemocrat
1103,115115,7005,534224,34945.96%51.57%
2185,467117,3717,660310,49859.73%37.80%
3121,083131,0860252,16948.02%51.98%
4105,870115,6170221,48747.80%52.20%
Total515,535479,77413,1941,008,50351.12%47.57%
MarginR +35,761R +3.55%

Nevada Congressional District 1

The 1st Congressional district of Nevada is located entirely within Clark County. Before the redistricting in 2022, it was the most Democratic leaning of all of Nevada’s Congressional districts. The new version of the 1st remains the most Democratic-leaning of the state’s districts. By registration, Democrats held an advantage of over 58,000 registered voters. However, the largest group in the district are the third party and unaffiliated voters.

NV-01 party registration

CountyRepublicansR %DemocratsD %Third PartyTotal
Clark137,86325.02%195,90435.55%217,270551,037
Total137,86325.02%195,90435.55%217,270551,037
MarginD +58,041D +10.53%

In the Republican primary for the 1st district, Mark Robertson emerged victorious from an eight-candidate primary field with only 12,375 votes (30.08%). In the Democratic primary, incumbent Democrat Dina Titus ran for re-election and attracted a progressive primary challenger in Amy Vilela: Titus won with 33,565 votes (79.83%) against Vilela’s 8,482 (20.17%).

NV-01 election

CountyRobertsonRobertson %TitusTitus %Third PartyTotal
Clark103,11545.96%115,70051.57%5,534224,349
Total103,11545.96%115,70051.57%5,534224,349
MarginD +12,585D +5.61%

In the general election, Titus won narrowly over Robertson. Turnout dropped dramatically from 2020, allowing the race to be closer than what might normally be expected from the district. Titus only won by a margin of 12,585 votes, or 5.6%).

Nevada Congressional District 3    

The 3rd congressional district of Nevada is located entirely within Clark County, sitting in the western portion of the county. The district in 2022 was a battleground district, as Republicans had a decent chance of flipping it in that election year. Democrats had a modest voter registration edge overall in the district; they outnumbered registered Republicans at the time of the election by almost 35,000 voters, while third party and unaffiliated voters comprised the largest group in the district.

NV-03 party registration

CountyRepublicansR%DemocratsD%Third PartyTotal
Clark154,53227.14%189,53133.29%225,258569,321
Total154,53227.14%189,53133.29%225,258569,321
MarginD +34,999D +6.15%

In the Republican primary, April Becker emerged victorious from her primary with 28,260 votes (64.86%), while the other Republican candidates in the primary combined for 15,311 votes (35.14%). Meanwhile, incumbent Democratic representative Susie Lee, secured 37,069 votes (89.68%), while her primary challenger Randell Hynes garnered 4,265 votes (10.32%).

NV-03 election

CountyBeckerBecker%LeeLee%Total
Clark121,08348.02%131,08651.98%252,169
Total121,08348.02%131,08651.98%252,169
MarginD +27,971D +3.96%

In the general election, incumbent Democrat Lee won her re-election bid over Becker. As with the 1st district, Democratic turnout in the 2022 midterm in Nevada’s 2nd congressional district dropped. This could likely could be attributed to two things: the midterm election environment that slightly favored Republicans, and the typical turnout dynamic in which turnout by the party in control of the White House drops. Republican turnout also dropped as well, but not as much as on the Democratic side; it was enough to make the race close. Lee won the district by 27,971 votes, a margin of 3.96%, and this seat will likely be a top Republican target in 2024.

Nevada Congressional District 4

The 4th Congressional district of Nevada is in the central part of the state and includes portions of Clark, Esmeralda, Lincoln, Lyon, Mineral and Nye counties, with northern Clark County making up most of the district’s voters. Democrats had a large voter registration edge in the district of of over 55,000 voters, but unaffiliated and 3rd party voters comprised the largest group within.

NV-04 party registration

CountyRepublicansR%DemocratsD%Third PartyTotal
Clark118,13123.84%186,31437.59%191,170495,615
Esmeralda36557.21%639.87%210638
Lincoln2,08363.18%40512.28%8093,297
Lyon17963.03%3311.62%72284
Mineral1,36538.28%80922.69%1,3923,566
Nye18,05943.62%7,64218.46%15,70341,404
Total140,18225.73%195,26635.84%209,356544,804
MarginD +55,084D +10.11%

In the primaries for the 4th Congressional District, incumbent Democratic representative Steven Horsford went unopposed in the Democratic primary, automatically advancing to the general election. In the Republican primary, Sam Peters won with 20,956 votes (47.68%) against Ann Black, who garnered 18,249 votes (41.52%), and Chance Bonaventura, who recorded 4,748 votes (10.80%). Both Horsford and Peters advanced to the general election.

NV-04 result

CountyPetersPeters HorsfordHorsford%Total
Clark87,98844.62%109,22055.38%197,208
Esmeralda36483.30%7316.70%437
Lincoln1,79984.34%33415.66%2,133
Lyon15780.93%3719.07%194
Mineral1,18563.61%67836.39%1,863
Nye14,37769.62%6,27530.38%20,652
Total105,87047.58%116,61752.42%222,487
MarginD +10,747D +4.84%

In the general election, Horsford won re-election against Peters. He was able to do this by building up a firewall in Clark County of 21,232 votes, far more than the 10,485 vote lead Peters secured in the other counties in the district. Horsford’s resounding margin in Clark County alone was enough to secure a 10,747 vote victory, a margin of 4.8%.

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