Redistricting Update: NV-0X No More... & NVLeg Almost Settled

Southern Nevada’s plethora of Democratic congressional candidates no longer have an excuse to delay announcing which district they will run for next year.

Carson District Judge James T. Russell today approved new district maps drawn by his three court masters after weeks of public hearings and number crunching.

Neither Republicans nor Democrats voiced an objection to the maps that reject the GOP argument that Hispanic voters were entitled to a majority-minority district under the Voting Rights Act.

Nice to see that's settled... But it's not all over yet.

Lawyers for both Republicans and Democrats said they need to review changes that Russell made to the Senate districts drawn by the masters before deciding whether to appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Republicans had objected to the way the masters drew the Senate districts, arguing they gave an unfair advantage to Democrats in three Southern Nevada districts.

Russell rejected that argument, but said state Sen. Barbara Cegavaske’s district was too irregularly shaped to comply with the law. His changes had little impact on the partisan registration of the three districts Republicans objected to.

Well, SD 8 under the original map did look weird. As long as no one tries to manipulate this process to gerrymander for the Republicans, we should be OK. Perhaps since Judge Russell has already come under fire for rigging the NV-02 special election earlier this year, he'll mind his manners now. It seems like Russell is only making minor changes with the Summerlin area Senate Districts, so hopefully the Nevada Supremes can sort it all out in a fair manner.

But in the mean time, it's good to know the maps are starting to be set in stone now. It's time for the Nevada GOP to give up its fantasies of total gerrymander.

More on Court's Proposed Congressional Districts

(Image courtesy of Las Vegas Sun)

So I played with the numbers last night to get a better sense of the political state of play in redistricting. Now that Judge Russell and his special masters have given us districts, we can get a better sense of who will end up with what. Here are my rough estimates of the partisan makeup of each district after drawing each one as close to reality as possible on Dave's Redistricting App:

NV-01 (Urban Las Vegas):

Estimated US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 64%
McCain (R) 34%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 60%
Sharron Angle (R) 35%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Rory Reid (D) 53%
Brian Sandoval (R) 42%

Democrats who live here- Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen

Republican who lives here- Barbara Cegavske

Race Rating- Safe Democratic

NV-02 (Reno-Carson/Northern Nevada):

Estimated US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 49%
McCain (R) 48%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Sharron Angle (R) 50%
Harry Reid (D) 43%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 63%
Rory Reid (D) 34%

Democrats who live here- Kate Marshall, Jill Derby, Jessica Sferrazza

Republicans who live here- Mark Amodei, Sharron Angle

Race Rating- Leans Republican

NV-03 (Henderson, Southwest Vegas, & South Clark County):

Estimated US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 54%
McCain (R) 44%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 50%
Sharron Angle (R) 45%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 52%
Rory Reid (D) 43%

Democrat who lives here- John Oceguera

Republicans who live here- Joe Heck, Elizabeth Halseth

Race Rating- Tossup

NV-04 (North Las Vegas, Summerlin, Northwest Vegas, & Central Nevada)

Estimated US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 58%
McCain (R) 39%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 54%
Sharron Angle (R) 40%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 48%
Rory Reid (D) 46%

Democrats who live here- Steven Horsford, John Lee, Larry Brown

Republicans who live here- Ed Goedhart, Shari Buck

Race Rating- Leans Democratic

So this is what we have so far: one solidly safe Democratic seat, one Democratic leaning seat, one tossup seat, and one Republican leaning seat. As it stands now, Nevada Democrats likely have at least two seats (NV-01 and NV-04) firmly in their pocket while Republicans have a good leg up in one seat (NV-02). NV-03 will probably be the barnburner that both sides will have to fiercely contest again.

First Thoughts on Court's First Draft Redistricting Maps

Earlier this afternoon, we caught a first glimpse at Judge Russell's panel's first draft of redistricting maps.

Incumbent Rep. Joe Heck’s congressional seat would have more Democrats than Republicans and one central Las Vegas congressional district would be almost 43 percent Hispanic, according to maps released by the Nevada District Court today.

The masters decided against drawing a district with a majority of Hispanic voters, as Republicans wanted.

“The Special Masters concluded that bloc voting by the white majority was not shown to usually defeat a minority’s preferred candidate,” they wrote.

The three “special masters” appointed by Judge Todd Russell drew the maps after holding hearings and taking public testimony this week.

So here's what we know so far about the new districts (demographic info here, Clark County closeup here) :

- NV-01 is now 42.8% Latino (in general population I believe, not VAP) and centered in Las Vegas' urban core. Its voter registration breakdown is 52% Democrats to 25% Republicans.

- NV-02 now narrows to Greater Carson-Reno and Northern Nevada. Its voter registration breakdown is 42% Republican to 35% Democratic.

- NV-03 narrows to mostly just the Southwest side of the valley and Henderson-Boulder, along with some of Summerlin and all of the southern rurals (Searchlight and Laughlin). It's 40% Dem and 37% GOP.

- And NV-04, the brand spanking new district, takes in Ely and Tonopah, then gallops its way down to Clark County to take most of North Las Vegas, the Northwest end of the valley, and Summerlin. It's 46% Dem and 33% GOP.

So far, it looks like Dina Titus, Ruben Kihuen, and Barbara Cegavske all live in the new NV-01, while Mark Amodei lives in the new NV-02, Joe Heck and John Oceguera live in the new NV-03, and Steven Horsford and John Lee live in the new NV-04. And so far, it looks like Horsford may get to breathe a nice sigh of relief, Kihuen gets to do a good fist pump, and the rest have huge political headaches awaiting them.

Tomorrow morning, I'll have more analysis of this late breaking development... But in the mean time, here are my quick observations:

- Judge Russell probably dodged a HUGE legal bullet, as his panel split the difference on the Voting Rights Act issue by giving NV-01 sizable Latino influence without unduly packing it.

- Nevada Democrats overall dodged HUGE political bullets in getting two safe Dem Congressional seats, along with a State Senate map that favors Democrats (more on that later, too!).

- However, two particular Clark County Democrats will have to bite painful bullets. Dina Titus' base is now split between NV-01 and NV-03, so she will have to choose whether to fight a bloody primary with Ruben Kihuen in NV-01 or agree to challenge Joe Heck again in NV-03. And if she chooses the latter, then John Oceguera had better watch out.

- At this point, Nevada Republicans look to be the biggest losers. Joe Heck is far from safe in the new NV-03, NV-04 looks quite out of reach from them, the State Senate will probably be less likely to flip with Shirley Breeden's and Alison Copening's districts made more Democratic (along with Elizabeth Halseth's too, haha!), and the Assembly still looks firmly out of reach for them as well.

And unless the Nevada Supreme Court somehow decides to invalidate this map, which I see as increasingly unlikely (judging by their recent smoke signals in letting this panel call the shots for now), these new Congressional and Legislature maps are probably here to stay. And so far, I'm mostly liking what I'm seeing. Let the games begin!

NV-0X: Horsford's In, Dem Field Is Set... And This Is a GOOD Thing

In case you've been hiding under a rock this past week, the big news is now official. Count Horsford in!

Steven Horsford, Nevada's Democratic majority leader, plans to run for the U.S. House in a bid that could see Nevada elect its first African-American to Congress and put the state Senate under the GOP's control.

Horsford told The Associated Press he will formally declare his candidacy Thursday in North Las Vegas. He hopes to succeed Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, who is running for the U.S. Senate in 2012.

"It's a decision that I've taken very seriously," Horsford said Wednesday. "I'm very proud of many of the things we have been able to accomplish in the state Senate and I would like to build on some of those accomplishments in Congress." [...]

As the majority leader, Horsford was an early critic of Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval's efforts to reduce education dollars and lobbied for higher taxes to pay for social services. He is a loyal Democratic player, serving as a national Democratic committee member and campaigning for President Barack Obama in 2008. Horsford's campaign website features a picture of his family with Obama in the Oval Office.

Republicans and Democrats alike describe him as charming, but a tough negotiator. In one instance, Horsford ordered all senators into their chamber and told sergeants-at-arms to find three missing lawmakers after the Legislature failed to compromise on public employee and retiree benefits during the 2009 session.

"We could argue all night and get up and shake hands," said Republican Assemblyman Pete Goicoechea. "He definitely has political savvy and clarity."

While the political powers that be have known this for several weeks, now everyone knows. And it's really not a bad thing.

Why has Patrick Coolican been in such a foul, lousy mood lately? I know we've seen some frustrating headlines, both locally and nationally, lately, but I don't get why he's been lashing out at Nevada's Congressional Candidates so harshly over it. He threw a fit last month when Ruben Kihuen announced he's running, and now he's doing the same to Steven Horsford. What, are no sitting legislators allowed to run for Congress?

I typically have great respect for Coolican and what he writes, but I don't get his logical pretzel twists over this. He says:

[... O]bviously it matters who controls Congress. Sometimes Congress gets stuff done.

For the most part, however, Washington is broken, mostly because of the godforsaken Senate filibuster, which forces Reid to get 60 votes out of 100 in the Senate just to start debate.

End the filibuster, and then I’d encourage our best and brightest, Republican and Democrat alike, to head to Washington to craft policy that will get America out of this slump.

Until then, I hate to see our finest young leaders waste their talents in such a wasteland while pressing needs at home go unmet.

But here's the thing: If we don't send better legislators to Washington, Congress will remain broken and "stuff" will never get done. And Coolican admitted himself that Horsford has a proven track record as a good legislator. So isn't someone like Steven Horsford exactly who we need in Congress right now?

Last month, he was saying that the likes of Horsford and Kihuen "can't solve our problems from Washington". Well, I have a news flash for him: On many issues, the solutions MUST start in Washington. Last I checked, Congress controls the federal purse strings. And Congress sets health care policy. And Congress can set in place new home foreclosure assistance. And perhaps most importantly, Congress can make the most difference in putting people back to work!

Yes, Coolican does have a point about Nevada needing tried and true leaders in our own legislature. However, I think we can find them even with Horsford and Kihuen gone. Hell, I think we caught a glimpse of one yesterday when Kyle Hansen, one of Coolican's colleagues at The Sun, profiled Senator Shirley Breeden (D-Henderson). I see strong progressives like Senator Sheila Leslie (D-Reno), and Assembly Members Peggy Pierce (D-Las Vegas) and Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Reno), as emerging leaders who can do plenty of good in Carson City in the not-too-distant future. I especially believe Horsford will leave Senate Democratic leadership in good hands (and hands that won't easily lose grip to a sleazeball like Mikey Roberson [R-Jerk]).

However, Nevada also needs to send tried and true leaders to Washington if we want to see progress on our policy priorities. And if Coolican still thinks they "can't solve our problems from Washington", I have two words for him: HARRY REID.



Harry Reid has led the way on many issues Nevadans care deeply about, such as creating green jobs now and building our renewable energy future. Really, where would we be without having the US Senate Majority Leader? Does Coolican really think that "doesn't matter"?

The fact of the matter is that who Nevadans send to Congress really does matter. And considering the outsized influence of the current crop of G-O-TEA crazies in Congress now, I would much rather have strong legislators who have learned to put their principles into practice in a pragmatic way than continue to suffer under extreme ideologues who only got to where they are now thanks to a few ideologically extreme billionaires who want to control, then destroy, every aspect of American government. And considering all the madness that's taken hold on the GOP side, it's good to see Nevada Democrats fielding strong Congressional Candidates who will be able to work with President Obama in 2013 and beyond on getting Nevada and the country back on track.

So with Horsford now in, it looks like the Democratic field is pretty much set. And as decor diva Martha Stewart would say, this truly is a good thing. Steven Horsford, Ruben Kihuen, John Oceguera, and Dina Titus are all experienced legislators, and especially Horsford and Titus have exceptionally strong track records of making progressive policy wishes into reality. So what's to complain about? And for that matter, why can't Nevada Republicans cough up more of their own candidates for Congress? Really, what are they afraid of?

End of Redistricting Mess? Maybe, But Not How Ralston Thinks.

Yesterday, I moaned about the very thin "nonpartisan" veneer draping Nevada's redistricting process. Today, Jon Ralston is wishing and hoping and praying for that very thin veneer to just fall off already.

Chairman Tom Sheets at one point urged Democratic and Republican lawyers to “make us irrelevant” by crafting a deal, which really would be special. But that seemed evanescent as the two days of hearings came to an end, especially with Gov. Brian Sandoval telling the capital press corps: “I have confidence in the judicial process.”

If I thought Sandoval was being serious — as opposed to politically correct — I’d be worried. But I still believe he would call the Gang of 63 back in a nanosecond if they reached an agreement — but not a nanosecond sooner.

What would be least special of all is seeing the lawmakers return to Carson City without an accord, thus creating chaos and obnoxiousness I had hoped we left behind in the spring. I’d rather be doing stand-up outside the Legislative Building in February than have to return to the capital to watch the partisan antics redux.

Sandoval’s pose, though, is perfectly in sync with everyone else involved in this travesty as constitutional provisions are flouted and laws twisted by poseurs — paid and otherwise. At least attorneys for the Democrats and Republicans are being compensated to do what they have been doing, which is to shamelessly pander to a burgeoning Hispanic minority as if they care — truly, madly, deeply — about its aspirations and needs.

For the political parties, this is about one thing and one thing only: Power. All of the rest is trappings, window dressing, bait-and-switch.

On that last point, Ralston is totally correct. This process typically IS all about power, as the rest is just the usual bait-and-switch. However, redistricting doesn't have to be this way. All we have to do is look to our next door neighbors for good inspiration.

Under Arizona's Prop 106, the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) is legally required to start from scratch every ten years, take into account proper communities of interest and potential competitiveness, and protect voters' right to choose their legislators rather than incumbents' wishes for "ideal voters". Even though its process is far from perfect, Arizona's IRC nonetheless offers the hope of drawing districts that better reflect the state's population, regardless of incumbents' demands and party politics on steroids.

Under California's Props 11 & 20, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) is also legally required to start from scratch every ten years, and that body is supposed to take into account proper communities of interest and municipal boundaries rather than incumbents' wishes or political party demands. And regarding the latter, California Republicans are so furious about (the lack of) it that they're filing a ridiculous law suit to overturn the new districts. And while this new process in California may lead to unintended consequences there, such as the stripping of seniority and experience in DC and Sacramento, California's CRC also provides many new opportunities for voters to retake control over elections.

So is independent redistricting perfect? Nope, just look at what's happening next door. But by the same token, we can also look next door and see an overall better functioning process that gives voters more control than the usual powers that be. And that would be quite the "special" departure from the usual politics that surrounds redistricting here in Nevada.

I honestly don't know if the current judiciary mess or retrying the Legislature is the better path to take for this current round of redistricting here. But moving forward, we really need to reexamine our State Constitution (which currently requires the Legislature to redraw its own districts and Congressional Districts) and ask if we really want to endure this kind of nonsense ten years from now.

Redistricting Nevada: NV-0X & The Politicians Who Crave It

In case you haven't yet heard, all the "kool kidz" on Twitter are using NV-0X to describe the current Nevada Congressional campaigns that can't yet point to actual districts... Since we don't have any new district lines yet. But even though we don't have any actual Congressional Districts ready for 2012, that isn't stopping what's quickly becoming a wild game of political musical chairs.

Joe Heck is now trying to look more "moderate" and "Nevadan". Meanwhile on the Democratic side, Nevada Assembly Speaker John Oceguera is now running for US House in a "yet to be determined district"... Except that it feels like he's already determined he's ready to take on Joe Heck. And not to be outdone by anyone else, Dina Titus is already making a big splash in her latest comeback campaign. And rumors continue swirling about Nevada Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford (D-North Las Vegas), State Senator Ruben Kihuen (D-Las Vegas), State Senator John Lee (D?-North Las Vegas), and others making the jump.

However, there's a problem. And if you haven't already noticed, let me remind you. Nevada will have four Congressional Districts starting in 2013. One of them will most assuredly be up north (where Kate Marshall is already running in the special election this year). So that leaves us with three Clark County based districts, yet we have two already announced Democratic candidates and at least three likely candidates. This is where the musical chairs analogy comes into play. With only three seats available and five candidates eyeing them, either a couple will have to "drop out before they even run", or we will be seeing some fierce primary action in the next year.

So here is where redistricting comes into play. The law suit is now in Carson City district court, but it may very well ultimately be decided by the Nevada Supreme Court. And since the courts are not supposed to take partisan politics into consideration, they probably won't be keen on any "baconmanders".

So let's take a look at probable redistricting scenarios, and how Nevada's Democratic candidates will respond accordingly.

In my first scenario, which I proposed back in May, Democrats won't be too happy. Neither will Republicans, but the Nevada GOP must recognize this is the best they can hope for after deliberately punting redistricting to the courts.







In this map, Clark County Latinos get a favorable (41.2% CVAP) minority-majority (and heavily Democratic) NV-01, while NV-03 remains slightly Democratic leaning but very swingy, NV-04 is drawn as a pure tossup seat, and NV-02 is Republican leaning but prone to become increasingly swingy. This may be enough to entice Ruben Kihuen to run in NV-01 (and make Steven Horsford think twice about running here), while Dina Titus and John Oceguera are forced to primary each other in NV-03 for the honor to face Joe Heck in the general election, and NV-04 just sits there and waits for some brave Democrat to face the steep challenge ahead.

NV-01 (Blue):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 69.1%
McCain (R) 28.8%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 65%
Sharron Angle (R) 30%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Rory Reid (D) 58%
Brian Sandoval (R) 37%

NV-02 (Green):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 49.4%
McCain (R) 48.2%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Sharron Angle (R) 50%
Harry Reid (D) 43%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 63%
Rory Reid (D) 34%

(And I'm only showing it here because it hardly even changes in the other two maps.)

NV-03 (Purple):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 55.7%
McCain (R) 42.2%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 52%
Sharron Angle (R) 43%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 52%
Rory Reid (D) 45%

NV-04 (Red):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 51.6%
McCain (R) 46.2%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Sharron Angle (R) 48%
Harry Reid (D) 48%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 56%
Rory Reid (D) 40%

---

But what if this doesn't happen? What if the judges have different ideas on how to divvy up Clark County? If that happens, Nevada Democrats will rejoice. But depending on how the lines are specifically redrawn, some will rejoice more than others.

In my second scenario, the court takes a more nuanced approach to the VRA and city boundaries. Since it's virtually impossible to create any sort of neatly drawn 50%+ Latino CVAP district, the court then sides with the Democrats in allowing for multiple "opportunity districts" instead. So instead of just one heavily Democratic district and two swing districts, Clark County instead gets one strongly Democratic district, one Democratic leaning district (which a much heftier lean), and one tossup district. NV-03 is now 36.9% Latino CVAP, and is one "Big Blue Blob" extending from the (heavily Latino) east end of North Las Vegas all the way south (through Downtown Las Vegas and UNLV) to Henderson's Green Valley and Green Valley Ranch. NV-01 is now "L-shaped" and extends from Cheyenne Ave in North Las Vegas to Southern Highlands, then jumps The 15 to take in Silverado Ranch, Henderson's Anthem, and Old Henderson. And NV-04 now takes in the bulk of Northwest Vegas, Summerlin, North Las Vegas north of Cheyenne Ave, Boulder City, and all the outlying Clark County rural areas.



In this scenario, Dina Titus gets the district of her dreams, as she gets much of her old base (East Side and Green Valley) without most of the pesky Republican heavy turf causing her endless headaches in 2008 and 2010. John Oceguera then gets his own Silverado Ranch based district that he can fairly easily kick Joe Heck out of (unless Steven Horsford really wants to fight him for a district that stretches that far south and includes Joe Heck's Roma Hills mansion), and John Lee finally gets a moderate district with enough North Las Vegas in it that he can run in. Sadly for Ruben Kihuen, he's left without a chair once the music stops.

NV-01 (Purple):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 58.8%
McCain (R) 39.2%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 55%
Sharron Angle (R) 40%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 49%
Rory Reid (D) 48%

NV-03 (Blue):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 63.7%
McCain (R) 34.0%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010:
Harry Reid (D) 60%
Sharron Angle (R) 35%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Rory Reid (D) 53%
Brian Sandoval (R) 44%

NV-04 (Red):

US Pres 2008
Obama (D) 52.0%
McCain (R) 45.8%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 47%
Sharron Angle (R) 47%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 57%
Rory Reid (D) 39%

---

But wait, there's more!

In my third scenario, the court takes a similar approach to the second scenario... Except that instead of Northwest Vegas and North Las Vegas, NV-04 swoops in to take Southwest Vegas and most of Henderson south of The 215/Lake Mead Parkway. NV-03, meanwhile, is now 37.6% Latino CVAP (and 57.4% minority majority CVAP overall), but still extends from Nellis Air Force Base all the way south to Green Valley Ranch. And NV-01 now is confined west of The 15 (with a couple small exceptions in Downtown Las Vegas) and stretches from Aliante (the northern edge of North Las Vegas) and Northwest Vegas to West Las Vegas and Summerlin.



In this scenario, Dina Titus still gets the district of her dreams with a NV-03 that looks tailor made for her. But now with NV-01 taking in North Las Vegas, Steven Horsford may have the upper hand here. Local Democrats will feel no pressure to accept a ConservaDem like John Lee in a district this Democratic, but perhaps a Summerlin area Democrat (paging Clark County Commissioner Larry Brown?) could give Horsford some heartburn in the primary. Meanwhile in NV-04, John Oceguera must now face Joe Heck in a tougher district that Heck just might have the upper hand in. And again, Ruben Kihuen is left without a chair once the music stops.

NV-01 (Purple):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 58.9%
McCain (R) 39.2%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 55%
Sharron Angle (R) 40%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 49%
Rory Reid (D) 48%

NV-03 (Blue):

US-Pres 2008
Obama (D) 63.9%
McCain (R) 33.8%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010:
Harry Reid (D) 60%
Sharron Angle (R) 35%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Rory Reid (D) 53%
Brian Sandoval (R) 44%

NV-04 (Red):

US Pres 2008
Obama (D) 51.3%
McCain (R) 46.4%

Estimated NV-Sen 2010
Harry Reid (D) 47%
Sharron Angle (R) 47%

Estimated NV-Gov 2010
Brian Sandoval (R) 58%
Rory Reid (D) 38%

Redistricting may very well change the dynamics of next year's Congressional elections here in Nevada, especially among a core group of powerful Clark County Democrats. Depending on the way the lines are drawn, either the State Senate Majority Leader or the State Assembly Speaker will have a tough time making the climb to Capitol Hill. And depending on the contours of the final map, either a rising young progressive star gets the promotion of a lifetime or a long time progressive stalwart gets the ultimate comeback.

NV-0X: Oceguera Is In. And So Is Titus!

Wow. We don't even have redrawn districts yet, and we're already getting US House candidates pop up for next year!

Nevada Democratic Assembly Speaker John Oceguera is officially launching his bid for Congress.

Oceguera is termed out from seeking re-election in the state Assembly, and his announcement Monday was widely anticipated.

What remains unknown is which district he'll run in.

Nevada gains a fourth U.S. House seat in next year's election, but the boundaries have yet to be drawn.

No really, he's in.

In Nevada, we have a strong sense of hard work, independence, and community —working together to find common sense solutions, to move Nevada forward. Whether it’s balancing the budget, enacting meaningful education reform, or fighting to create jobs, Nevadans have the resolve to stand up for the middle-class in tough times.

Sadly, the same cannot be said for Washington, DC.

As Washington politicians try to take away seniors’ hard-earned right to Medicare — some even calling Social Security a “Pyramid Scheme” – and instead give special tax breaks to oil companies and insurance companies, I’ll fight for what’s right. I’ll fight to protect Medicare, create jobs, and get our economy back on track.

I’m running for Congress because we need people who’ll stand up to Washington and get results, not be part of the problem. I took on the special interests in Carson City, working across party lines to balance the budget and enact meaningful education reform. I’ll be just as tough on Washington.

And he may not be the only one... Ralston is hinting (and I spoke with someone earlier who's confirming!) that Dina Titus will make her campaign official this week as well.

And already, there are rumors of even more Democrats chomping at the bit to run. Ruben Kihuen, John Lee, and others are rumored to be considering running. It all depends on what the final map looks like.

And speaking of the map, I'm reminded of this map I drew back in May. If the court agrees to a map like this, Steven Horsford and Ruben Kihuen would have to fight over the minority heavy and strongly Democratic 1st District, while Dina Titus and John Oceguera would have to fight over who would take on Joe Heck in the slightly Democratic leaning 3rd District, and the 4th District would be awaiting someone up to the challenge of a tough tossup seat. (Would John Lee be up to moving to Summerlin or Centennial Hills?)

I guess we didn't have to wait all that long for the 2012 Congressional campaigns to start up and heat up. We don't even have a map yet, and the campaigns are jumping on board! Fasten your seat belts, Nevadans. We'll be in for a wild ride.

UPDATE (4:25 PM): Dina Titus is announcing her resignation from the US Civil Rights Commission... And she pretty much admitted to The R-J that she will be running for Congress again. The heat is ON!