A real difference

Sunday, May 4, 2008 | 2:08 a.m.

State Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus’ announcement last week that she will challenge Congressman Jon Porter should make the race one of the more-watched House races in the nation.

Titus, a Democrat, is a late entry in the race in Congressional District 3. She takes the place of veteran prosecutor Robert Daskas, who withdrew for personal reasons.

Porter, a Republican in his third term, will find a tough challenger in Titus. He will likely go on the attack, as he has in his past races. He has used negative campaigns against his previous opponents, diverting attention from himself and his own record. He will undoubtedly call Titus a tax-and-spend liberal, an attack Republican Party officials have already dusted off.

That will not work this year. Titus has spent two decades in the state Senate and has faced such attacks before, including in her losing bid for governor two years ago. The attacks didn’t work in Southern Nevada. She carried Clark County and Porter’s district.

Porter will also have to realize that his far-right philosophy likely won’t fly very far in his district, where Democrats have taken a lead in voter registration of more than 22,500 voters. And the voters know Titus — her state Senate district overlaps Porter’s congressional district.

Porter barely fended off a spirited challenge in 2006 by Tessa Hafen, a first-time candidate. His luck may not hold out against a more seasoned candidate who has built a record of accomplishment in the Legislature.

It also will be interesting to see which chameleon-like Jon Porter runs this time. Will he try to run as a moderate, which he tried to sell himself as when he was in the Nevada Legislature, or will he be the fawning Bush supporter who consistently has backed the Republican president’s policies, including an unpopular war?

As the campaign progresses, we believe it will lead voters to a clear choice in November.