Titus draws challengers inside, outside Democratic Party

Rep. Dina Titus’ 1st Congressional District faces a significant challenge in the months and years ahead, as coronavirus-prompted closures of the Strip have choked a major income source at a time when surrounding areas were already facing significant economic hardship.

The incumbent Democrat faces challenges from both sides of the spectrum as she seeks a sixth congressional term in 2020. She previously spent 20 years in the Nevada state Senate.

Titus is a heavy favorite to win re-election in what is by far the state’s most Democratic-leaning district. She is the dean of Nevada’s congressional delegation and holds positions on significant committees, such as transportation and foreign affairs.

None of her challengers is reporting any significant fundraising. Like all candidates in 2020, they are also limited in the types of face-to-face campaigning typically relied upon.

In the Democratic primary, Titus faces two challenges from the left in Allen Rheinhart and Anthony Thomas Jr. Both are members of Democratic Socialists of America and looking to draw from the state’s progressive base.

On the Republican side, 2018 challenger Joyce Bentley will go against Josh Elliott, Eddie Hamilton and Citlaly Larios-Elias for the right to face the Democratic nominee.

Independent American Kamau Bakari, Libertarian Robert Van Strawder Jr. and nonpartisan Joseph Maridon will also be on the general election ballot.

Dina Titus

“Our community is really hurting,” Titus said in an interview with the Review-Journal. “We need compassionate and experienced public servants to lead the recovery.”

In addition to her ongoing efforts to increase stimulus aid for the tourism industry, Titus touted her work on House bills establishing federal background checks on firearm purchases, equal pay for women and a pathway to citizenship for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients. Her office is also fielding more than 100 calls a day from constituents seeking help with unemployment, returning to the country from abroad or other essential matters, Titus said.

Titus has emerged as a vocal critic of President Donald Trump — something the Republicans seeking Titus’ seat say is a roadblock for more federal aid in the district. In response, Titus said she is capable of working across the aisle on “non-ideological issues,” but working with Republicans and working with the Trump White House are two different things.

“(Trump) has done a terrible job,” Titus said. “There is no leadership coming out of the White House on coronavirus, and I won’t back up from that at all.”

Her campaign also quipped that, should presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden defeat Trump in 2020, she would “enjoy an especially close relationship with the White House.” Titus was the first member of Congress from Nevada to endorse Biden for president.

Allen Rheinhart

Rheinhart is mounting a primary challenge to Titus, saying she’s lost touch with the increasingly progressive district.

He is in favor of Medicare for All, a Green New Deal, abolishing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, wiping out college debt and extending federal payments of $2,000 per month to every American during the coronavirus recovery period.

Rheinhart also accused Titus of being unprepared for the COVID-19 outbreak, as she should have known it was coming because of her position on the Foreign Affairs committee.

Finally, Rheinhart, who is black, said he would better represent the people in his district who look like him in the majority-minority district.

“You should look like your district, and she does not,” he said.

Anthony Thomas Jr.

Thomas is also running on a progressive platform, saying Titus represents corporate donors ahead of her constituents. He moved to Las Vegas in 2015 in part to campaign for Sen. Bernie Sanders.

He noted that Sanders won Nevada by a wide margin in the February Democratic caucuses. “We’re tired of the same politics as usual,” Thomas said. “We don’t want the Obama-era policies that Titus and Biden are pushing for.”

In addition to the standard progressive platforms, Thomas is also calling for a 12 percent corporate tax to fund education.

Thomas, who has been out of work as a security guard during the pandemic, said Titus can no longer relate to working people who will need a lot more than a one-time payment of $1,200 provided by recent stimulus legislation to make it through the spring.

Joyce Bentley

Titus’ 2018 Republican challenger said she decided to take one more shot at the seat because she was concerned about leaving the country in its current state for future generations.

Bentley, a retired banker and realtor, said her main reason for running is to cut wasteful spending in the federal government. “There should be so much money in there for what we need,” she said. “There shouldn’t be any need for additional taxes.”

She maintained that a careful look at the budgets should provide more funding for fighting homelessness and improving the quality of life for veterans. She believes her finance background makes her better suited to represent the Republican Party than her fellow GOP challengers.

Bentley said she learned much about politics in her first run, in which she lost to Titus by about 36 points. She is running on her own, she said, as the state GOP does not consider the seat winnable.

Eddie Hamilton

Hamilton has proudly run for office every cycle for years, saying he enjoys meeting people as a perennial candidate. He prides himself as “not just a supporter, but a warrior” for Trump, whom he called the most conservative president in U.S. history.

Contrary to Titus, he would seek to work hand in hand with the president on all things, but particularly on rebuilding the economy after the pandemic. “Gaming and tourism may be the last industry to recover,” Hamilton said. “But (Trump) loves Las Vegas. The western White House is at Trump Tower. We need to take advantage of this.”

Even if he does not win, Hamilton said, he hopes his candidacy can whip up volunteers and votes for Trump within the Democratic district.

Hamilton will be listed on the ballot as Eddie “Mr. Las Vegas” Hamilton because he wants to “make Las Vegas great again,” he said.

“So far at least, Wayne Newton isn’t suing me,” Hamilton joked. “He’s the Mr. Las Vegas of entertainment, and I’m the Mr. Las Vegas of politics.”

Citlaly Larios-Elias

Larios-Elias is taking her first stab at politics because she believes Titus does not represent conservatives, independents and moderate Democrats through her actions in Congress.

As a 35-year-old mother, disabled U.S. Army veteran and Mexican immigrant, Larios-Elias said she can identify with a much larger group of voters than either Titus or her Republican opponents.

She said that restoring jobs, enforcing safe and legal immigration and repealing the Affordable Care Act would be her goals if elected.

Josh Elliott

Elliott comes from family of automotive dealership and nightclub owners, and he said he’s running to improve the economy through stimulating small-business growth.

He also believes the state should be heavily investing in nuclear energy and training in nuclear jobs. He is a firm supporter of the plan to house nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain — a project Titus has fought against.

Elliott, whose father was the first black automotive dealer in Las Vegas, said black and brown people are wrong to mistrust Republicans, and he can be instrumental to show what the Republican Party can do for minority voters. “We’re going to see what Republicans can do for us, because we already know Democrats aren’t doing anything for us,” he said.

Contact Rory Appleton at rappleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported the year Anthony Thomas Jr. moved to Las Vegas. He moved in 2015.