State Sen. Dina Titus and U.S. Rep. Jon Porter

The Associated Press

Tue, Aug 12, 2008 (8:21 p.m.)

Two incumbent Republican congressmen and their anointed Democratic challengers cruised to easy victories Tuesday in a low-turnout primary election that set the stage for a pair of hotly contested races in November.

U.S. Rep. Jon Porter handily defeated his token opposition, posting more than 80 percent of the vote in early returns. Porter is seeking a fourth term representing Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, a sprawling suburban district that's seen a recent wave of Democratic voter registrations.

His Democratic opponent, longtime state Sen. Dina Titus, locked up her party's nomination quickly. Titus had about 85 percent of the early results.

In northern Nevada, U.S. Rep. Dean Heller bested political newcomer James Smack for the Republican nomination in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District. Heller was winning nearly 88 percent of the early returns, with Smack, a follower of former presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, getting about 11 percent.

Former Democratic Party Chairwoman Jill Derby won a November rematch with the first-term congressman. Derby, who had no primary opponent, lost to Heller in 2006 by 5 percentage points in what has been safe Republican territory.

In Nevada's 1st Congressional District, five-term Democrat Shelley Berkley easily advanced to the general election. Republican Kenneth Wegner was seeking his party's nod in the urban Las Vegas district.

But all eyes will be on the Porter-Titus matchup.

The race is expected to among the most competitive in the nation. Porter, a former mayor of Boulder City, has seen his district change since his last narrow win in 2006. The territory had nearly even numbers of Democrats and Republicans, but now counts a 30,000-voter advantage for Democrats.

Titus makes a formidable opponent. She already represents a portion of the district as state senator, and as the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 2006 won the district by a slim margin.

Early sparring between the candidates has focused on energy policy. Titus has said she supports some offshore oil drilling, a position at odds with her party. Porter calls that a reversal for Titus.

The 2nd Congressional District, which covers rural Nevada and Washoe County, is safer ground for Republicans, but Heller can take little for granted in a year when Democrats are expected to surge.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put both Derby and Titus on a "Red to Blue" list of targeted races, giving them access to donors across the nation.

The lack of competition in races up and down the ballot promised to make for a sleepy primary. Voters only trickled into the polls during the two-week early voting period. Only about 7 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Clark County _ home to two-thirds the states voters. That left election officials predicting a record low 15 percent of registered voters casting ballots.