As we do every four years, Daily Kos Elections is calculating the results of the 2016 presidential election for all 435 congressional districts, and this series of posts explores the most interesting results on a state-by-state basis. You can find our complete data set here, which we’re updating continuously as the precinct-level election returns we need for our calculations become available. You can also click here to learn more about why this data is so difficult to come by.
Nevada was one of the bright spots for Team Blue on election night. Hillary Clinton carried the Silver State 48-46, while Barack Obama took it 52-46 in 2012. The swingy 3rd District, which includes Henderson to the south of Las Vegas, switched sides, backing Donald Trump 48-47 after narrowly supporting Obama 50-49.
However, Team Blue still managed to score a pickup in this open seat, with Jacky Rosen defeating Republican Danny Tarkanian 47-46. Democrats were overjoyed in June when the deeply flawed Tarkanian defeated state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, the choice of the state GOP establishment, in the primary. The GOP will almost certainly make a serious effort to unseat Rosen in 2018 in this swing seat, though unruly primary votes could always gift them with another bad candidate.
Clinton also carried the 4th District, which includes North Las Vegas, by a 50-45 margin, but that was down quite a bit from Obama's 54-44 win in 2012. Democrat Ruben Kihuen unseated Republican freshman Rep. Cresent Hardy 49-45, running about as well as Clinton did. The 4th may not be as competitive as the 3rd, but Kihuen should still prepare for a credible opponent in 2018.
Nevada's other two congressional districts probably won't be changing hands anytime soon. Clinton carried the 1st, which is centered around Las Vegas and represented by Democratic Rep. Dina Titus, 62-33. Trump won the 2nd, which includes Reno and is held by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, 52-40.