NV-03 Jon Porter Lean Republican to Toss Up

Republicans say that the three-term Porter received a gift in May when Democrats replaced their initial candidate, Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas, with state Sen. Dina Titus, who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2006. The problem for Porter? His real opponent may not be Titus, but the district’s rapid growth and political transience.

When Porter first ran for this seat in 2002, the new 3rd CD was a “fair fight” district, home to 117,938 Democrats and 120,262 Republicans in June of that year. By June 2006, Democrats had taken the lead in voter registration, but the count was still on a razor’s edge: 141,168 to 140,158. New voter registration statistics show that as of June 2008, this district’s Democrats outnumber its Republicans, 167,130 to 143,356.

In 2006, Porter’s race against former Sen. Harry Reid staffer Tessa Hafen was slow to engage, and did not emerge as a close contest until fairly late in the season. After Porter outspent Hafen 2-to-1, he prevailed by fewer than 4,000 votes. This time around, the

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