Nine candidates run in Las Vegas congressional district

By Liam Hibbert
The Center Square

Nevada’s 1st Congressional district sees a total of nine candidates vying for Tuesday’s Democratic and Republican primaries, but only two have captured the majority of endorsements and financial backing.

Those are incumbent U.S. Rep. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and state Sen. Carrie Ann Buck. The latter received endorsements from two fellow Republicans, President Donald Trump and Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Titus, 76, faces three Democratic challengers in the primary: Luis Paniagua, Joy Hoover and Gabriel Conejo. But none of them have managed to raise significant funds or garner much media attention over recent months.

Titus is seeking to win her eighth term in the district. The district contains parts of Las Vegas area, including the Las Vegas Strip, the nearby city of Henderson and rural areas of Clark County, stretching to the southern tip of the state. She first won election in the district in 2013 after representing the 3rd Congressional District from 2009-2011, which included several of the same areas as today’s 1st Congressional District. Before joining Congress, Titus was a state senator for two decades.

In the Republican primary, five candidates are trying to get into the general election. Buck, 54, R-Clark County, is the only Republican candidate currently holding public office.

“As a state senator, I flipped a blue seat – and the momentum is real,” Buck told Maggie’s List, a national conservative women’s political action committee, in April. “Just last quarter, we outraised my Democrat opponent.”

Buck has represented the 5th Nevada Senate District in Clark County since 2020, following the Democratic incumbent’s retirement.

Buck will be looking ahead to a general election that has proven to be difficult for Republican candidates over the years. No Republican has won the district in 30 years, and Titus has often beaten challengers in landslide elections. Buck will gain some confidence after the state’s congressional redistricting in 2021 made closer margins for the district – although Titus still won by decisive margins in 2024 (7.5%) and 2022 (5.6%).

Buck’s confidence got a boost after her campaign raised more money than Titus. Buck reported $1.21 million in total campaign contributions from the most recent filing period, narrowly beating out Titus at $1.17 million. A recent report by Punchbowl News listed Titus as one of only a handful of Republican congressional challengers across the U.S. to outraise Democratic incumbents and one of even fewer to do so without significant self-funding.

Titus has focused much of her messaging in the run up to this November’s election around the economy, criticizing the Trump administration.

“When conflict disrupts oil supply, it drives up energy prices, and this is not just at the pump,” Titus said in a March congressional hearing on the Iran war. “We have seen it in Las Vegas – in just one month, the price of gas has gone up $1 per gallon. These high oil prices push inflation higher, slow economic growth and directly feed into affordability for families.”

The average price for gas in Nevada was $5.08 a gallon Friday, above the national average of $4.22, according to AAA.

Titus blamed the Trump administration’s leadership for the latest economic shock, and she has spoken in opposition to the administration’s immigration and gambling policies.

“Send that message loud and clear to Washington [D.C] that ICE needs to be reigned in, not funded with more money,” Titus told demonstrators at a January immigration enforcement protest in Las Vegas.

Titus and Buck did not respond to The Center Square’s requests for interviews.

Buck has yet to list an official list of key issues in her campaign, but has outlined some of her concerns.

“I’m ready to take the fight to Congress to protect parents’ rights, secure our border, back our police and make sure that Washington is held accountable for every single taxpayer dollar,” Buck said in her Maggie’s List PAC address.

No polls have been conducted for Nevada’s 1st Congressional District, but users on predictive markets company Kalshi gave the Democratic Party a 73% advantage over the Republican Party in the general election for this November.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Voters can also submit a mail-in ballot through the state’s universal program.

For more information, go to the Nevada Secretary of State’s website, nvsos.gov. Early election results will be published on the evening of June 9 at www.thecentersquare.com/nevada.