2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada

←  2006 November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04) 2010  →
All 3 Nevada seats to the United States House of Representatives
Majority party Minority party   Party Democratic Republican Last election 1 2 Seats won 2 1 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 457,320 383,548 Percentage 50.35% 42.23% Swing 0.27% 3.06%
District results County results Democratic   40–50%   50–60%   60–70% Republican   40–50%   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%

The 2008 congressional elections in Nevada were held on November 4, 2008, to determine who would represent the state of Nevada in the United States House of Representatives, coinciding with the presidential election. The election coincided with the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Representatives are elected for two-year terms; those elected would serve in the 111th Congress from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011.

Nevada had three seats in the House, apportioned according to the 2000 United States census. Its 2007–2008 congressional delegation consisted of two Republicans and one Democrat. After the election, it consisted of one Republican and two Democrats, with District 3 changing from Republican to Democratic. CQ Politics had forecasted districts 2 and 3 to be at some risk for the incumbent party.

Overview

Statewide

Party		Candidates	Votes [1]		Seats
			No.	%	No.	+/–	%
	Democratic	3	457,320	50.35	2		66.67
	Republican	3	383,548	42.23	1		33.33
	Independent American	3	22,813	2.51	0		0.0
	Libertarian	3	20,432	2.25	0		0.0
	Independent	1	14,922	1.64	0		0.0
	Green	2	9,219	1.02	0		0.0
Total		15	908,254	100.0	3		100.0

Popular vote

Democratic			50.35%
Republican			42.23%
Independent American			2.51%
Libertarian			2.25%
Green			1.02%
Other			1.64%

House seats

Democratic			66.67%
Republican			33.33%

By district

Results of the 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Nevada by district:

District	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	154,860	67.65%	64,837	28.32%	9,225	4.03%	228,922	100.0%	Democratic Hold
District 2	136,548	41.44%	170,771	51.82%	22,201	6.74%	329,520	100.0%	Republican Hold
District 3	165,912	47.43%	147,940	42.29%	35,960	10.28%	349,812	100.0%	Democratic Gain
Total	457,320	50.35%	383,548	42.23%	67,386	7.42%	908,254	100.0%

District 1

2008 Nevada's 1st congressional district election

←  2006 2010  →

Nominee Shelley Berkley Kenneth Wegner Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 154,860 64,837 Percentage 67.6% 28.3%

U.S. Representative before election Shelley Berkley Democratic Elected U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley Democratic

See also: Nevada's 1st congressional district

This district covered most of the City of Las Vegas, as well as parts of North Las Vegas and parts of unincorporated Clark County. Incumbent Democrat Shelley Berkley, who had represented the district since 1999, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 51.2% of the vote in 2006.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Shelley Berkley, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Mark Budetich Jr, Merchant Marine electrician and candidate for the 3rd district in 2002, 2004 and 2006

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley (incumbent)	19,444	89.7
	Democratic	Mark Budetich Jr	2,222	10.3
Total votes			21,666	100.0

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Kenneth Wegner, Gulf War veteran, part-time bail enforcement agent, candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and nominee for this seat in 2006

Eliminated in primary

• Chris Dyer, veteran and restaurateur
• Eve Ellingwood, former judge
• Ed Hamilton, former Chrysler executive and candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006 ^[2]
• Ray Kornfield, casino worker
• Russ Mickelson, former Air Force pilot, retired Defense Department employee, for this seat in candidate in 2006 and nominee in 2004
• Mike Powers, candidate for Mayor of Honolulu

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Kenneth Wegner	4,359	34.7
	Republican	Russ Mickelson	2,490	19.8
	Republican	Chris Dyer	1,847	14.7
	Republican	Eve Ellingwood	1,137	9.0
	Republican	Ray Kornfield	1,090	8.7
	Republican	Mike Powers	896	7.1
	Republican	Ed Hamilton	761	6.0
Total votes			12,580	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jim Duensing, radio talk show host, nominee for this seat in 2004 and 2006

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Caren Alexander

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [4]	Safe D	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Safe D	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]	Safe D	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [7]	Safe D	November 6, 2008

Results

Nevada's 1st congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Shelley Berkley (incumbent)	154,860	67.6
	Republican	Kenneth Wegner	64,837	28.3
	Independent American	Caren Alexander	4,697	2.1
	Libertarian	Jim Duensing	4,528	2.0
Majority			90,023	39.3
Total votes			228,922	100.0
	Democratic hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Shelley Berkley (D)	$2,164,787	$1,985,063	$853,233
Kenneth Wegner (R)	$15,747	$15,794	$0
Jim Duensing (L)	Unreported
Darnell Roberts (IN)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Shelley Berkley (D)	$19,108	$0
Kenneth Wegner (R)	$1	$0
Jim Duensing (L)	$0	$0
Darnell Roberts (IN)	$0	$0

District 2

2008 Nevada's 2nd congressional district election

←  2006 2010  →

Nominee Dean Heller Jill Derby Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 170,771 136,548 Percentage 51.8% 41.4%

County results Heller:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Derby:     40–50%

U.S. Representative before election Dean Heller Republican Elected U.S. Representative Dean Heller Republican

See also: Nevada's 2nd congressional district

This district covered all of Nevada except for parts of Clark County. Reno, along with surrounding Washoe County, casts about 70% of the district's vote. The 2nd District had been represented by Republicans continuously since its creation. Incumbent Republican Dean Heller, who had represented the district since 2007, ran for re-election. He was elected with 50.3% of the vote in 2006.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dean Heller (Carson City), incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• James Smack, pawn shop manager

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dean Heller (incumbent)	43,112	86.0
	Republican	James Smack	7,009	14.0
Total votes			50,121	100.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jill Derby (Gardnerville), chair of the Nevada Democratic Party, former Regent for the University and Community College System of Nevada and nominee for this seat in 2006 ^[8]

General election

Endorsements

Jill Derby (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[9]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Dean Heller (R)	Jill Derby (D)	Others	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [10]	October 28–29, 2008	400 (LV)	±5.0%	50%	37%	4%	9%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [11]	October 8–9, 2008	221 (LV)	±4.0%	51%	38%	1%	10%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Lean R	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [4]	Likely R	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Lean R	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]	Safe R	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [7]	Lean R	November 6, 2008

Results

Nevada's 2nd congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dean Heller (incumbent)	170,771	51.8
	Democratic	Jill Derby	136,548	41.4
	Independent American	John Everhart	11,179	3.4
	Libertarian	Sean Patrick Morse	5,740	1.7
	Green	Craig Bergland	5,282	1.6
Majority			34,223	10.4
Total votes			329,520	100.0
	Republican hold

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Dean Heller (R)	$1,713,939	$1,605,840	$133,757
Jill Derby (D)	$1,109,169	$1,121,582	$4,085
Sean Patrick Morse (L)	Unreported
James Krochus (IA)	Unreported
Craig Bergland (G)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Dean Heller (R)	$128,416	$10,278
Jill Derby (D)	$42,810	$0
Sean Patrick Morse (L)	$0	$0
John Everhart (IA)	$0	$0
Craig Bergland (G)	$0	$0

District 3

2008 Nevada's 3rd congressional district election

←  2006 2010  →

Nominee Dina Titus Jon Porter Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 165,912 147,940 Percentage 47.4% 42.3%

U.S. Representative before election Jon Porter Republican Elected U.S. Representative Dina Titus Democratic

See also: Nevada's 3rd congressional district

This district covered the suburbs of Las Vegas, including Henderson, parts of North Las Vegas and Summerlin, and much of unincorporated Clark County. Incumbent Republican Jon Porter, who had represented the district since 2003, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 48.5% of the vote in 2006.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Jon Porter (Boulder City), incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

• Carl Bunce
• Jesse Law

Results

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Porter (incumbent)	21,955	81.6
	Republican	Jesse Law	3,030	11.3
	Republican	Carl Bunce	1,911	7.1
Total votes			26,896	100.0

Democratic primary

Leading Democratic candidates included Fraud Examiner Andrew Martin and Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas, but Daskas dropped out in late April, citing family concerns. After losing their top candidate, the Democratic Party quickly recruited Titus, who had previously declined to run. ^[12]

Candidates

Nominee

• Dina Titus (Las Vegas), Nevada Senate Minority Leader and nominee for Governor in 2006

Eliminated in primary

• Barry Michaels, chiropractor, ex convict and candidate for this seat in 2006
• Anna Nevenic, writer, peace activist, candidate for this seat in 2004 and 2006
• Carlo "Tex" Poliak, trash collector, Republican candidate for Governor in 2002 and for U.S. Senate in 2004

Withdrawn

• Robert Daskas, Clark County prosecutor ^[13]
• Andrew Martin, fraud examiner (running for the state assembly) ^[14]

Declined

• Maggie Carlton, state senator ^[15]
• Tessa Hafen, former press secretary for US Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and nominee for this seat in 2006
• Lawrence Lehrner, nephrologist and husband of Shelley Berkley ^[16]
• Rory Reid, Clark County Commission Chair
• Richard Perkins, Henderson Police Chief and former Speaker of the Nevada Assembly

Results

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dina Titus	22,232	84.7
	Democratic	Barry Michaels	2,312	8.8
	Democratic	Anna Nevenic	1,114	4.2
	Democratic	Carlo "Tex" Poliak	587	2.2
Total votes			26,245	100.0

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Joseph Silvestri, teacher, realtor, nominee for this seat in 2004 and 2006

Green primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Bob Giaquinta

Independent American primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Floyd Fitzgibbons, insurance agency owner and nominee for State Controller in 2006

Other Candidates

• Jeffrey Reeves (Independent)

General election

Campaign

Porter was considered to be at risk due to the increasingly Democratic electorate in the 3rd District, having won by only 48% to 46% in 2006 against a former aide to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. George W. Bush had barely won this district with 50% to 49% for John Kerry in 2004. ^[17]

Endorsements

Dina Titus (D)

Organizations

• Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee "Red to Blue" Program ^[9]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size [a]	Margin of error	Jon Porter (R)	Dina Titus (D)	Others	Undecided
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal)	October 28–29, 2008	400 (LV)	±5.0%	44%	44%	3%	9%
Mason-Dixon (Las Vegas Review-Journal) [18]	October 8–9, 2008	236 (LV)	±4.0%	43%	40%	3%	13%

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report [3]	Tossup	November 6, 2008
Rothenberg [4]	Tilt D (flip)	November 2, 2008
Sabato's Crystal Ball [5]	Lean D (flip)	November 6, 2008
Real Clear Politics [6]	Tossup	November 7, 2008
CQ Politics [7]	Tossup	November 6, 2008

Results

Nevada's 3rd congressional district election, 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Dina Titus	165,912	47.4
	Republican	Jon Porter (incumbent)	147,940	42.3
	Independent	Jeffrey Reeves	14,922	4.3
	Libertarian	Joseph Silvestri	10,164	2.9
	Independent American	Floyd Fitzgibbons	6,937	2.0
	Green	Bob Giaquinta	3,937	1.1
Majority			17,972	5.1
Total votes			349,812	100.0
	Democratic gain from Republican

Finances

Campaigns

Candidate (party)	Raised	Spent	Cash on hand
Jon Porter (R)	$2,946,133	$2,873,337	$26,133
Dina Titus (D)	$1,856,736	$1,777,641	$79,095
Joseph Silvestri (L)	Unreported
Floyd Fitzgibbons (IA)	Unreported
Bob Giaquinta (G)	Unreported
Jeffery Reeves (I)	Unreported

Outside Spending

Candidate (party)	Supported	Opposed
Jon Porter (R)	$295,757	$472,721
Dina Titus (D)	$549,006	$596,775
Joseph Silvestri (L)	$0	$0
JFloyd Fitzgibbons (IA)	$0	$0
Bob Giaquinta (G)	$0	$0
Jeffery Reeves (I)	$0	$0

Notes

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

References

1. "Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives".
2. "CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 1". reviewjournal.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. July 27, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
3. "2008 Competitive House Race Chart". House: Race Ratings. The Cook Political Report. November 6, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
4. "2008 House Ratings". House Ratings. The Rothenberg Political Report. November 2, 2006. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
5. "2008 House". Sabato's Crystal Ball. November 6, 2008. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
6. "Battle for the House of Representatives". realclearpolitics.com. Real Clear Politics. November 7, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
7. "Race Ratings Chart: House". cqpolitics.com. Congressional Quarterly Inc. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 20, 2023.
8. "Jill Derby resigns as party chair to run against Dean Heller". Nevada Appeal. February 20, 2008. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
9. "Red to Blue 2008". actblue.com. DCCC. Archived from the original on November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 21, 2025.
10. LVRJ Oct 2 2008
11. LVRJ Oct 2008
12. David McGrath Schwartz; Michael Mishak (April 29, 2008). "To Dems' dismay, Daskas drops out". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
13. Top Democratic House challenger drops out Martin Kandy II. Politico.com The Crypt. April 28, 2008.
14. "Nevada: Titus Has Democratic Field to Herself in 3rd". rollcall.com. Roll Call. May 5, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
15. Matthew Murray (July 11, 2007). "Porter Finally Gets a Foe". rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
16. David McGrath Schwartz (September 19, 2007). "OK, he was fourth on the list, but he's taking on Porter". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
17. Molly Ball (October 10, 2008). "Dina Titus leading her opponent in Nevada's 3rd CD". neomagazine.com. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
18. LVRJ 3rd Oct 2008

External links

• Election Center from the Nevada Secretary of State
• U.S. Congress candidates for Nevada at Project Vote Smart
• Nevada U.S. House Races from 2008 Race Tracker
• Campaign contributions for Nevada congressional races from OpenSecrets

Official campaign websites District 3 Jon Porter (R) campaign website Dina Titus (D) campaign website Joseph Silvestri (L) campaign website Bob Giaquinta (G) campaign website Jeffrey Reeves (I) campaign website