CARSON CITY, Nev., Sept. 14 (UPI) -- The former head of the Nevada Republican Party trounced a Democrat in a special election for one of the state's three congressional seats.
Mark Amodei, a former state senator, will fill the vacancy created when U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., was appointed to the U.S. Senate, the Nevada News Bureau reported. The Democratic candidate, state Treasurer Kate Marshall, won less than 40 percent of the vote.
The 2nd District has been represented by Republicans since it was created 30 years ago, and there are about 30,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. The district covers most of the thinly populated state, including everything except the Las Vegas and Henderson areas.
Amodei must run for a full term next year.
Heller was appointed to the Senate to replace John Ensign, who resigned following a sexual and financial scandal.
Secretary of State Brian Miller, a Democrat, originally declared the special election would be a winner-take-all fight open to any candidate who could muster enough signatures. The state Supreme Court overruled him, turning the election into a two-party fight and depriving the Democrats of any hope of splitting the opposition.
