Two Republicans considering challenging Horsford

CARSON CITY — Two potential Republican candidates are considering a run against 4th Congressional District incumbent Steven Horsford, D-Nev., as he prepares to pursue a second term in the House of Representatives.

Both Assemblyman Cresent Hardy, R-Mesquite, and Niger Innis, a conservative civil rights activist, are considering a run in the new congressional district, which encompasses northern urban Clark County and parts of rural Nevada.

Hardy has taken his campaign one step further, however, filing a statement of organization with the Federal Election Commission on Oct. 15.

Hardy said Monday he wants to run if he can raise the necessary funds.

“I’ve got a goal set, and we will see what happens,” he said. “I probably won’t announce one way or the other until January.”

Hardy is a conservative Republican in the Assembly. In the 2013 session, he sought unsuccessfully with his colleagues to make changes to Nevada’s prevailing wage law and public pension plan as ways to find money to fund education and other budget priorities.

He voted against bills requiring background checks for gun purchases, authorizing the creation of medical marijuana dispensaries and establishing driver privilege cards for undocumented immigrants.

Hardy was first elected to the Assembly in 2010 from Mesquite, where he was born, and has served in two legislative sessions.

Innis, the national spokesman for the Congress of Racial Equality, said four days ago via Twitter that he has not officially announced a run for the seat. He lives in North Las Vegas.

Horsford won election to the open seat in 2012, defeating Las Vegas Republican Danny Tarkanian.

The congressional district, created as a result of the 2010 census numbers, has a strong Democratic voter edge. September 2013 active voter registration totals show Democrats with 144,113 voters compared with 101,303 Republicans.

There are also 53,280 nonpartisan voters.