RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei fended off a primary challenge from tea party favorite Sharron Angle Tuesday, while former Rep. Steven Horsford and Las Vegas philanthropist Susie Lee won Democratic primaries for two Democrat-held congressional seats in southern Nevada that will be up for grabs in November.
Horsford, who became the first African-American to represent Nevada in Congress when he won the 4th District seat in 2012 but survived only one term, will face a rematch against former GOP Rep. Cresent Hardy in the November election.
Democratic Rep. Dina Titus also cruised to victory in her bid for a fifth term in the heavily Democratic 1st District in Las Vegas. Six Democrats were competing for the nomination to face Amodei in northern Nevada's 2nd District, where no Democrat has won since it was created in 1980.
Hardy, who beat lesser-known primary challengers Tuesday, defeated
Horsford in 2014 then lost in 2016 to Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen, who announced earlier this year he wouldn't seek re-election amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The swing district stretches from north of Las Vegas through four rural counties.
Lee is expected to face off in November against Republican Danny Tarkanian in the 3rd District after the son of legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian abandoned his primary bid to unseat Republican Sen. Dean Heller, bowing to pressure from President Trump and others.
The 3rd District incumbent, Jacky Rosen, won the Senate Democratic nomination Tuesday and will face Heller in November.
Tarkanian, who was facing six GOP primary opponents, and Lee each raised well over $1 million in their primary campaigns for what's expected to be the most expensive congressional race in Nevada this fall.
Tarkanian has won three previous GOP primaries, but never a general election. He lost to Rosen in 2016 by fewer than 4,000 votes in the 3rd District, which covers much of suburban Las Vegas.
Lee, a fundraiser for education and disadvantaged women, lost in the 2016 primary to Kihuen in the neighboring 4th District. She has been endorsed by former Vice President Joe Biden and has financial backing from environmentalists, labor unions, women's and abortion rights groups.
Angle railed against Amodei's willingness to consider amnesty for immigrants living in the country illegally. But her badly outspent campaign failed to gain traction and the Federal Election Commission notified her last week that she was delinquent on a campaign spending report due May 23. By March 31, she had raised $13,625 with $9,415 cash on hand. In comparison, Amodei raised $762,716 with $307,648 still in the bank May 23.