Congressional candidates in NV adhere to party lines over Trump’s war with Iran

The Nevada Current—Republican candidates seeking to represent Nevadans in Washington D.C. are praising President Donald Trump’s military attacks on Iran, even as they avoid responding to questions about the president’s end game, his lack of congressional authorization, and his flip-flops on foreign intervention and regime change. Democrats, meanwhile, are demanding the president lay out his rationale for the attack. 

On Saturday, Trump, claiming an ‘imminent threat’ to the U.S., declared the military action an opportunity for Iranians to “take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”  

Trump has not said how the people of Iran are to accomplish such a revolt or ensure a pro-American regime takes charge.  

Trump, who campaigned against foreign intervention, in 2019 called U.S. involvement in the Middle East “the worst decision ever made…” 

In his second term he has orchestrated a coup in Venezuela, threatened Canada and Greenland, and attempted to direct traffic in the Panama Canal. And Monday, Sen. Linday Graham (R-SC), an unwavering Trump confidante, said “Cuba is next.” 

Congressional Democrats are calling for Trump to lay out his rationale for attacking Iran and his plans for ending the conflict. The Constitution grants Congress sole authority to declare war, and the War Powers Act allows Congress to end unauthorized military action by requiring that troops withdraw within 90 days. 

Resolutions to require Trump to obtain congressional approval for the Iran conflict are awaiting votes in the House and Senate, however, it’s unlikely the votes exist to overturn a presidential veto. 

Congress voted on the War Powers Resolution after the Trump administration toppled Venezuela’s Nicholas Maduro in January. The measure passed a procedural vote with the help of five Republican senators, who Trump declared “should never be elected to office again.”  

The Current reached out to elected representatives and declared candidates for their take on the Iran war. 

Congressional District 1 

“The Trump administration has failed to make a compelling case for war with Iran to Congress or the American people,” Rep. Dina Titus, a Democrat, said Saturday. “I look forward to voting for the Iran War Powers Resolution on the House floor next week,” referring to a vote that intends to assert congressional authority to check Trump’s actions.

Titus “will not consider voting for an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) unless the Administration makes a compelling case to Congress to justify a prolonged military conflict with Iran, and the subsequent AUMF is narrowly tailored to that situation,” a spokesman said Tuesday. “As we have seen in the past, an overly broad AUMF – with no definitions or geographical constraints – can lead to substantial loss of life and significant costs to the American taxpayer.”

Republican State Sen. Carrie Buck, who hopes to unseat Titus, posted a photo Saturday on Facebook from 2016 of American sailors who were apprehended after they entered Iranian waters. “40 years of this stuff & it stops today! Our country is safer because of what happened today because we finally have a president who handles tough things,” Buck wrote.

She did not respond to the Current’s questions about Trump’s vacillation on foreign intervention, or whether the president should have sought authorization from Congress. 

Gabriel Cornejo, a Democrat seeking to defeat Titus in the primary, noted on social media that Trump “once branded himself as the ‘peace candidate,’ yet his reckless rhetoric and impulsive decision-making have too often escalated tensions rather than eased them. A man who avoided serving when his country called now speaks casually about force and conflict, putting our neighbors, our loved ones, and the very people who would wear the uniform in harm’s way.”

Congressional District 2 

“The time has come to make it clear that radical regimes seeking to undermine democracy, while enthusiastically chanting ‘Death to America’, will be met with the strength of America and its allies,” Republican Rep. Mark Amodei, who announced recently he’s not seeking reelection, said in an email Monday. 

“With every passing day that we fail to confront this radical regime and its proxy groups, they move one step closer to their goal of destabilizing the free world,” Amodei said. “As a leader of the free world, we have a responsibility not only to say that Iran cannot be nuclear-armed, but to promise that it never will be.”

“Iran has proven for decades it is a threat to America, Israel, and peace in the Middle East,” retired Eureka County Sheriff Jesse Watts, a Republican hoping to replace Amodei, posted Saturday on social media. “A nuclear Iran is unacceptable. Diplomacy was offered. Iran refused.”

Watts did not respond to questions. 

Kathy Durham, one of several Democrats seeking to represent District 2, said via email she does not support the attack on Iran. “And I don’t believe voters in Northern Nevada do either.”

“This president campaigned on a platform of peace,” Durham added. “He has made opposition to endless regime change wars a cornerstone of his political identity. This illegal war is the opposite of what people voted for, and I oppose it.

Matthew Fonken, who is also running in the Democratic primary for CD 2, said via email that  he does not support the U.S. pursuing regime change through war. 

“America has seen where that road leads: more chaos, more instability, more dead civilians, and more risk to our own troops,” Fonken said, noting deaths of civilians and military troops are mounting. “That is not making this country safe.”

Fonken says Trump should have sought congressional authority, and “should have the courage to make that case to the American people and to Congress first. This is not ‘America First’, this is a dangerous failure of leadership.”

Congressional District 3

In a statement Saturday, Rep. Susie Lee, a Democrat, noted Iran’s role in “funding global terrorism and killing Americans.” Lee said she’s awaiting an intelligence briefing “laying out the justification for the U.S. committing our troops to this attack and the strategic plan for a conclusion where the region will not suffer further instability and the Iranian people will be able to transition to a democratic government and peace.” 

Dr. Aury Nagy, a former Democrat who is seeking the Republican nomination in CD3, said on social media he supports Trump’s attack on Iran. 

“For decades, Iran’s ruling regime has oppressed its own people, funded and armed proxy forces that attack our allies and refused to abandon its nuclear program,” Nagy said. 

He did not respond when asked about Trump’s assertion that U.S. and Israeli attacks last year “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

“As an America First conservative, I support restraint in America’s use of military force,” CD3 Republican hopeful Tera Anderson said via email.”While I am not privy to all the information that the President and his team have about the threat, I’ve seen his statements to the public, and I trust that President Trump is within his authority to act and making necessary decisions to protect American lives and interests.”

“It’s been mass terror. And we’re not going to put up with it any longer,” Republican Marty O’Donnell, who is also running in CD3, said Saturday on X. 

O’Donnell, who came in fourth in the 2024 Republican primary for the district, did not respond to questions.

Congressional District 4

Rep. Steven Horsford noted late Monday that six American soldiers had been killed in the Iran war, adding his “heart is with their families who are carrying an unimaginable burden tonight,” adding their families deserve clarity from the president on his mission. “Unfortunately, the President and his Administration have presented the American people and our country’s soldiers with contradictory explanations since this conflict began.” Horsford added he intends to vote for the War Powers Resolution “because I respect those who serve and I respect every constituent who deserves to understand and have a voice in the mission ahead.”

Republicans Cody Whipple and David Flippo, who are seeking to oppose Horsford, did not respond to requests for comment.