Titus authored a bill banning "universal default clauses" that have enabled some credit card issuers to boost interest rates by 30% or more. The bill passed the Senate and Assembly, but was vetoed by Gibbons. Credit card providers Citibank and Chase rolled back or eliminated universal default clauses due to political pressure in the U.S. Congress.[4][dead link]
2006 gubernatorial election campaign
Titus at the 2008 Nevada Democratic State Convention
Incumbent RepublicanNevadaGovernorKenny Guinn could not run again in 2006 due to strict absolute lifetime term limit laws. Titus won the Democratic nomination, but lost to Republican Congressman Jim Gibbons. Titus won Clark County, but her margin there was not enough to overcome Gibbons's landslide margin in the 2nd district.
Democrats were heavily targeting 3rd district Republican incumbent Jon Porter. Their top candidate was Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas, but Daskas dropped out in April for family reasons. Democrats then recruited Titus, who had won the district in her unsuccessful 2006 run for governor. Titus defeated Porter in November, 47% to 42%, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district. She was a major beneficiary of the overall anti-Bush sentiment in the Las Vegas area.[citation needed] She was elected Regional Whip in the 111th Congress.[5]
On October 31, 2011, Titus entered the Democratic primary for Nevada's 1st congressional district, where her home had been placed by redistricting. The incumbent, Democrat Shelley Berkley, gave up the seat to run for the United States Senate. While the 3rd is considered a swing district, the 1st is far and away Nevada's safest Democratic seat.[6] Titus initially faced a challenge from State Senator Ruben Kihuen in the primary. Kihuen dropped out in February 2012, reportedly due to trailing in polls and fundraising.[7] This all but assured Titus's return to Congress after a two-year absence. She easily defeated her Republican challenger, Chris Edwards.
Titus was reelected, defeating Republican nominee Annette Teijeiro with 56.9% of the vote.[8] After this election, she became the only Democratic member of Nevada's U.S. House delegation, as fellow Democrat Steven Horsford was defeated.
Titus defeated Republican nominee Mary D. Perry with 61.9% of the vote to Perry's 28.8%; independent Reuben D'Silva received 7.4%.[8]This election saw Democrats pick up two U.S. House seats in Nevada.
Titus was redistricted into a much more competitive district. She faced progressive Amy Vilela in the Democratic primary, winning with 79.8% of the vote; in the general election, Titus defeated Republican nominee Mark Robertson, 51.6% to 46.0%. Most poll aggregators rated the race a tossup.[8]
In September 2020, Titus started a successful petition to rename a Library of Congress heading from "Armenian massacres" to "Armenian genocide" in the wake of Armenian genocide recognition by the United States Congress in 2019.[16][17]
On December 16, 2021, Titus expressed her frustration with the process of redrawing Nevada's congressional districts to make them more electorally competitive. According to the Nevada Current, she told an AFL-CIO town hall, "I totally got fucked by the legislature on my district." She added, "I'm sorry to say it like that, but I don't know any other way to say it." Democrats who control the state legislature in Nevada gerrymandered districts to make two swing districts stronger for Democrats. She warned that three safe seats are now in danger and at risk of turning Republican in the 2022 election.[19][20]
Voting rights
On February 9, 2023, Titus voted against H.J.Res. 24: Disapproving the action of the District of Columbia Council in approving the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022 which condemns the District of Columbia's plan that would allow noncitizens to vote in local elections.[21][22]
Syria
In 2023, Titus voted against H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.[23][24]
Personal life
Titus has been married to Thomas C. Wright since 1979. Wright is a retired professor of history at UNLV. His studies in Latin American history have taken the couple on extended journeys throughout Central and South America and to Spain.[25]
Titus is the author of Bombs in the Backyard: Atomic Testing and American Politics[27] and Battle Born: Federal-State Relations in Nevada During the Twentieth Century.[28]
^Titus, A. Constandina (2001-02-01). Bombs In The Backyard: Atomic Testing And American Politics (2nd ed.). Reno: University of Nevada Press. ISBN9780874173703.
^Titus, D. (1989-06-01). Titus, A. Costandina (ed.). Battle Born. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall Hunt Pub Co. ISBN9780840352873.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dina Titus.