Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) managed to survive a dogfight election race against insurance agency owner Republican Sam Peters, keeping the battleground seat in Democratic control.
“As I embark on another term serving the people of this great district in the U.S. House of Representatives, I remain committed to protecting fundamental rights for women, preserving Social Security and Medicare, and building an economic agenda that creates opportunities for everyone, leaving no one behind,” Horsford said in a statement following his projected victory.
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Horsford held a 51.5% to 48.5% edge over Peters as of early Friday morning with about 93% of the vote in. His victory was projected by multiple media outlets such as CNN and NBC.
Scant polling painted a murky picture of the contest, but political forecasters had widely deemed the race a toss-up. Republicans had seen the seat as one of three congressional pickup opportunities in their quest for a fall sweep in the Battle Born State.
“I know the people of this district because I’m rooted in this state. I have experience not only in Congress, but in the state Senate and leading a nonprofit for more than 10 years, as well as being a business owner,” Horsford told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Horsford, the incumbent, became the state’s first black member of Congress in 2012, making the jump to Congress from his perch as state Senate majority leader. He was later bested by former Rep. Cresent Hardy (R-NV) in 2014 during a GOP wave year — marking the last time a Republican won the seat.
He then recaptured the seat in 2018 during the blue wave and was reelected in 2020. The congressman was embroiled in controversy for an extramarital affair to which he publicly confessed with a former intern of the late Sen. Harry Reid. She was about 15 years younger than him.
Peters, a decorated Air Force combat veteran, mounted a scrappy campaign against Horsford, billing himself as an ardent MAGA conservative. Both campaigns had pummeled the other on issues ranging from border security, crime, and inflation to abortion and healthcare.
In their pitches to voters, Horsford tried to caricature Peters as an extremist, and Peters tried to paint the congressman as an out-of-touch politician.
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During the latest congressional map-drawing process, Democrats bumped the swing district from a +1 lean for Republicans to a +5 lean for Democrats, per FiveThirtyEight. The battle was seen as one of roughly 30 toss-up seats in the crusade for control of the House.
