113th Congress: Dina Titus, D-Nev. (1st District)

By John Gramlich, CQ Staff

Dina Titus returns to Congress after losing her re-election bid in 2010, representing a redrawn district that is more urban, more ethnically diverse and more dependent on tourism than the one she represented in her previous one-term tenure.

As a result of the change, “the issues have shifted a bit,” Titus says, pointing out that because her new district includes the Las Vegas Strip, she will work to emphasize tourism and economic development as a way to bring jobs to Nevada, where double-digit unemployment has persisted during virtually the entire Obama presidency.

While education remains a legislative priority for the former political science professor (she served on the Education and Labor Committee last time around), Titus says she “would love” to serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee because it “covers a lot of things that will happen on gaming.”

“My priorities for the district are doing things that have short-term as well as long-term benefits,” Titus says, citing transportation improvements alongside economic development as an area of focus.

A former minority leader in the Nevada Senate, Titus believes she can work across party lines, a skill that will be tested by her first experience serving in a Republican-led House. “There are reasonable people who, if they’re not threatened, will be able to come up with some solutions,” she says. “The public just demands it.”