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Susie Lee Outlines Plans for CD3

Susie Lee takes the stage at a Democratic election night party Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. Lee defeated Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian.
(AP Photo/John Locher)

Susie Lee takes the stage at a Democratic election night party Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2018, in Las Vegas. Lee defeated Republican candidate Danny Tarkanian.

Jacky Rosen will leave office to become a U.S. Senator in January, but Nevada’s Third Congressional District will remain blue.

Democrat Susie Lee defeated Republican Danny Tarkanian for the job of U.S. Representative on Tuesday, winning the state’s southernmost district with 52 percent of the vote.

Susie Lee is a Las Vegas philanthropist and a first-time office-holder.

"I really am focused on getting to work and helping ... first of all helping young people have opportunities and helping families make ends meet," Lee told KNPR's State of Nevada.

Lee said her focus in Washington will be the same as it has been in Southern Nevada education and health care.

"When you really dive deep into what the struggles facing our school district are it really gets down to poverty," she said. "People being able to earn a living wage and live in dignity."

She said a lot of the issues she has tackled in Southern Nevada are dealt with in Washington D.C., which is why she decided to run for Congress again after losing the CD4 Democratic primary in 2016.

Lee would like to get on the Education and Workforce Committee when she gets to the House and she wants to set up a strong constituents' office. 

Other items on her agenda include supporting what she calls common-sense gun legislation. She said everyone wants to preserve the rights of law-abiding citizens to own guns, but she believes it is our duty to deal with gun violence, which has become a daily occurrence.

She also wants to shore up the Affordable Care Act. She says the act is not perfect and there are steps lawmakers can take to make it better.

"One most importantly, preserve protections for those with pre-existing conditions," she said. "The other thing is we need to allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices." 

Lee would like to see Congress go back to trying to pass comprehensive immigration reform, but she does not support efforts to impeach President Trump.

"I think that I was elected to represent Southern Nevada and get to work on issues that are going to help Nevadans here," she said. "I think getting to Washington and first and foremost taking up impeachment would be a distraction."

She said the American people want Congress to produce some results on some of these issues.

Susie Lee, incoming U.S. Representative

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Kristy Totten is a producer at KNPR's State of Nevada. Previously she was a staff writer at Las Vegas Weekly, and has covered technology, education and economic development for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She's a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism.