2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

←  2002 November 2, 2004 (2004-11-02) 2006  →
All 8 Nevada seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Republican Democratic Last election 2 1 Seats won 2 1 Seat change Popular vote 420,711 333,912 Percentage 53.16% 42.19%

The 2004 congressional elections in Nevada were elections for Nevada's delegation to the United States House of Representatives, which occurred along with congressional elections nationwide on November 2, 2004. Nevada has three seats, as apportioned during the 2000 United States census. Republicans held two of the seats and Democrats held one. ^{[1] [2]}

Overview

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Republican	3	420,711	53.16	2		66.67
	Democratic	3	333,912	42.19	1		33.33
	Libertarian	3	20,119	2.54	0		0.0
	Independent American	2	16,691	2.11	0		0.0
Total		10	791,433	100.0	3		100.0

Popular vote

Republican			53.16%
Democratic			42.19%
Libertarian			2.54%
Independent American			2.11%

House seats

Republican			66.67%
Democratic			33.33%

By district

Results of the 2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada by district:

District	Republican		Democratic		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	63,005	31.12%	133,569	65.98%	5,862	2.90%	202,436	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 2	195,466	67.15%	79,978	27.48%	15,635	5.37%	291,079	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	162,240	54.46%	120,365	40.40%	15,313	5.14%	297,918	100.0%	Republican Hold
Total	420,711	53.16%	333,912	42.19%	36,810	4.65%	791,433	100.0%

District 1

Incumbent Democrat Shelley Berkley, who had represented the district since 1999, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 53.7% of the vote in 2002.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelley Berkley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Brian Kral, playwright and instructor at Community College of Southern Nevada ^[3]
• Ann Reynolds, bookkeeper and member of the LaRouche movement ^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley	27,765	83.2
	Democratic	Ann Reynolds	3,208	9.6
	Democratic	Brian Kral	2,412	7.2
Total valid votes			33,385	100.0
Rejected ballots			1,252	3.6
Total ballots			34,637	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Russ Mickelson, former Air Force pilot and retired Defense Department employee ^[3]

Eliminated in primary

• Lewis Byer, business manager and nominee for Clark County Treasurer in 2002 ^{[3] [4]}
• Francisco Tamez, chemical technician

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Russ Mickelson	11,868	63.5
	Republican	Lewis Byer	4,806	25.7
	Republican	Francisco Tamez	2,026	10.8
Total valid votes			18,700	100.0
Rejected ballots			619	3.2
Total ballots			19,319	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Duensing, radio talk show host

Independent American primary

Candidates

Withdrawn

• Brad Barnhill

General election

Endorsements

Shelley Berkley (D)

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun ^[5]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [6]	Safe D	October 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe D	November 1, 2004

Results

Nevada's 1st congressional district election, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley (incumbent)	133,569	66.0
	Republican	Russ Mickelson	63,005	31.1
	Libertarian	Jim Duensing	5,862	2.9
Majority			70,564	34.9
Total votes			202,436	100.0
	Democratic hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Shelley Berkley (D)	$1,653,330	$1,248,297	$605,152
Russ Mickelson (R)	$17,982	$17,662	$319
Jim Duensing (L)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Shelley Berkley (D)	$229	$0
Russ Mickelson (R)	$92	$0
Jim Duensing (L)	$0	$0

District 2

Incumbent Republican Jim Gibbons, who had represented the district since 1997, ran for re-election. He was re–elected with 74.3% of the vote in 2002.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Gibbons, incumbent U.S. Representative and nominee for Governor in 1994

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Angie Cochran, business owner

Eliminated in primary

• David Bennett, computer systems programmer ^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Angie Cochran	18,319	50.6
	Democratic	David Bennett	17,859	49.4
Total valid votes			36,178	100.0
Rejected ballots			60	0.2
Total ballots			36,238	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Brendan Trainor

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Janine Hansen

General election

Endorsements

Jim Gibbons (R)

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun ^[5]

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [6]	Safe R	October 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe R	November 1, 2004

Results

Nevada's 2nd congressional district election, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jim Gibbons (incumbent)	195,466	67.2
	Democratic	Angie Cochran	79,978	27.5
	Independent American	Janine Hansen	10,638	3.7
	Libertarian	Brendan Trainor	4,997	1.7
Majority			115,488	39.7
Total votes			291,079	100.0
	Republican hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Jim Gibbons (R)	$1,139,202	$1,171,994	$412,510
Angie Cochran (D)	Unreported
Brendan Trainor (L)	Unreported
Janine Hansen (IA)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Jim Gibbons (R)	$804	$0
Angie Cochran (D)	$0	$0
Brendan Trainor (L)	$0	$0
Janine Hansen (IA)	$0	$0

District 3

Incumbent Republican Jon Porter, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was elected with 56.1% of the vote in 2002.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jon Porter, incumbent U.S. Representative ^[8]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Tom Gallagher, former casino executive ^{[9] [10]}

Eliminated in primary

• Mark Budetich Jr, Merchant Marine electrician and candidate for this seat in 2002 ^[3]
• Rick DeVoe, mechanic ^[3]
• Anna Nevenic, writer and peace activist ^[3]
• Shanna Phillips, high school teacher ^[3]
• Ron Von Felden, lawyer, Vietnam War veteran and host of a daily talk radio show ^[3]

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Gallagher	23,349	69.5
	Democratic	Shanna Phillips	2,573	7.7
	Democratic	Anna Nevenic	2,239	6.7
	Democratic	Rick DeVoe	2,217	6.6
	Democratic	Mark Budetich Jr.	1,833	5.5
	Democratic	Ron Von Felden	1,383	4.1
Total valid votes			33,594	100.0
Rejected ballots			850	2.5
Total ballots			34,444	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joseph Silvestri, teacher and realtor

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Richard Wayne O'Dell, nominee for this seat in 2002

Other Candidates

• Pete O'Neil (Independent), marketing executive and candidate for this seat in 2002 (Withdrawn)

General election

Campaign

Porter was initially seen as vulnerable, given that he was freshman running for re-election in a seat carried by Al Gore 49% to 48% over George W. Bush in 2000 and had befitted from a Democratic candidate hit by ethic issues. In October, Roll Call listed him as one of their 10 most vulnerable incumbents of 2004. ^[11]

Gallagher pledged not to take any from oil and gas interests and criticized Porter and the Republicans for their ties to the industry, with Porter having received $81,000 from the industry since his first Congressional bid in 2000, saying in a press release "With the generous contributions of big oil and gas to Republicans, it is little wonder that the interests of the energy industry come first while the consumer is stuck with the bill”. Porter however refused saying "My record is very clear in 20 years of service" and his campaign manager described the pledge as a "stunt". ^{[12] [13]}

The Porter Campaign were able to paint Gallagher as a carpetbagger who had moved from Lake Tahoe to Henderson to run for Congress. Additionally his decision to lay off service-industry employees during Las Vegas’ post-9/11 slump while collecting a bonus worth millions, cost him support from the Democratic base that he never recovered. ^[14]

Endorsements

Tom Gallagher (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[15]

Newspapers

• Las Vegas Sun ^[5]

Debate

• Complete video of debate, October 22, 2004

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Jon Porter (R)	Tom Gallagher (D)	Other	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [16]	October 26–27, 2004	307 (LV)	±6.0%	51%	41%	1%	7%
Belden Russonello & Stewart (Las Vegas Sun/KLAS-TV/KNPR) [17]	October 16–19, 2004	316 (LV)	±5.5%	49%	32%	2%	17%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [18]	October 14–16, 2004	300 (LV)	±6.0%	50%	35%	3%	12%
Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (Gallagher–D) [19]	September 14–15, 2004	405 (LV)	±5.0%	47%	44%	–	9%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [20]	September 13–15, 2004	300 (LV)	±6.0%	51%	40%	2%	7%
Belden Russonello & Stewart (Las Vegas Sun/KLAS-TV/KNPR)	September 2004	? (LV)	±?%	54%	33%	–	13%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [21]	July 20–22, 2004	305 (LV)	±6.0%	56%	32%	–	12%
Garin-Hart-Yang Research Group (Gallagher–D) [22]	July 10–12, 2004	400 (LV)	±5.0%	46%	40%	–	14%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [6]	Lean R	October 29, 2004
Sabato's Crystal Ball [7]	Safe R	November 1, 2004

Results

Nevada's 3rd congressional district election, 2004

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Porter (incumbent)	162,240	54.5
	Democratic	Tom Gallagher	120,365	40.4
	Libertarian	Joseph Silvestri	9,260	3.1
	Independent American	Richard Wayne O'Dell	6,053	2.0
Majority			41,875	14.1
Total votes			297,918	100.0
	Republican hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Jon Porter (R)	$2,762,871	$2,653,136	$128,982
Tom Gallagher (D)	$2,141,750	$2,132,518	$9,231
Joseph Silvestri (L)	Unreported
Richard O'Dell (IA)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Jon Porter (R)	$91,320	$223,638
Tom Gallagher (D)	$600,924	$396,971
Joseph Silvestri (L)	$0	$0
ichard O'Dell (IA)	$0	$0

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "Results" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
2. "Results" (PDF). www.fec.gov. 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
3. "Congressional candidates face little opposition in primary". nevadaappeal.com. Las Vegas, NV: Nevada Appeal. August 25, 2004. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
4. "D.C.'s Political Report: 2004 Nevada Results". dcpoliticalreport.com. D.C.'s Political Report. Archived from the original on February 15, 2025. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
5. "Editorial: Our choices for Congress". lasvegassun.com. Las Vegas Sun. October 17, 2004. Archived from the original on March 9, 2005. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
6. "2004 Competitive House Race Chart" (PDF). House: Race Ratings. Cook Political Report. October 29, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 10, 2006. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
7. "2004 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 3, 2004. Archived from the original on November 11, 2004. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
8. "2004 Nevada Polls". dcpoliticalreport.com. D.C.'s Political Report. November 2, 2004. Archived from the original on December 14, 2010. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
9. Erin Neff (March 14, 2004). "3RD DISTRICT: Gallagher energizes Democrats". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 17, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
10. Nicole Duran (May 11, 2004). "Upping the Ante in Nevada Race". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
11. "Who You Calling Vulnerable?". rollcall.com. Roll Call. October 1, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
12. "Gallagher: Porter Should Reject Oil and Gas Money". rollcall.com. Roll Call. June 1, 2004. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
13. Nicole Duran (September 7, 2004). "Gallagher Goes Nuclear on Porter, Literally". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
14. Nicole Duran (November 17, 2004). "Place All Future Bets on Rep. Porter". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 8, 2025.
15. "Help change Congress from Red to Blue!". democraticaction.org. DCCC. Archived from the original on September 21, 2004. Retrieved November 16, 2025.
16. Las Vegas Review-Journal October
17. Las Vegas Sun October 2
18. Las Vegas Review-Journal October 1
19. GHY RG September
20. Las Vegas Review-Journal October
21. Las Vegas Review-Journal July
22. GHY RG July

External links

• Election Results - 1962 to Present from the Secretary of State of Nevada
• Campaign contributions at OpenSecrets