Who's In the Race

Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) faces Republican Cody Whipple in the November 3 general election in Nevada's 4th District. ​

Horsford has represented the district since 2019, after serving in the House from 2013 to 2015, and previously served as Nevada's first African-American State Senate Majority Leader. Before Congress, he led Nevada's Culinary Training Academy, a job-training program for hospitality workers, for more than a decade. He advanced to the general election without a primary vote because the Democrats did not hold a primary.

Whipple is a fourth-generation Nevadan, rancher and small-business owner raised on his family's cattle ranch in Hiko. He earned a degree in Animal Science from Virginia Tech on a football scholarship and has run Rebel Communications, a firm serving first responders, schools and businesses, for about 25 years. He won the June 9 Republican primary with about 62 percent of the vote; runner-up Ronda Kennedy received about 23 percent.

What They Stand For

Horsford has opposed the SAVE America Act, saying it "threatens the freedom to vote" and would amount to "a federal takeover of our elections," according to The Nevada Independent. He's also supported targeted immigration enforcement focused on border security and removing dangerous criminals, while opposing indiscriminate mass deportation and supporting pathways to legal status, according to The Nevada Independent. According to The Nevada Independent, he also supported refunding tariff costs to small businesses and opposed U.S. involvement in the Iran war, citing the lack of "a clear strategy and no exit plan" and arguing Congress did not authorize it. According to his official website, he supports affordable healthcare and opposes Medicaid cuts.

Whipple has proposed making housing, health care, groceries and energy more affordable, according to his campaign website. He's also supported eliminating taxes on tips and protecting overtime pay, protecting Medicaid and Social Security by eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, expanding school choice, career and technical education, and youth sports opportunities, and the SAVE America Act, saying "Voting should be easy, but cheating should be impossible," according to The Nevada Independent.

The Money Behind the Race

Through June 30, Horsford had raised about $3.4 million and had about $1.5 million in the bank, nearly 3.8 times more in receipts than Whipple, who had raised about $885,000 and had about $285,000 on hand, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Whipple also carries about $430,000 in campaign debt, more than his cash on hand, while Horsford's debt stands at about $23,000.

Outside groups have spent about $6,232 supporting Horsford, and the Western States Regional Council of Carpenters Legislative Improvement Committee was the largest of the three listed spenders at about $6,063.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Betting Markets

Cook Political Report rated the race "Likely Democratic" as of Oct. 9; Sabato's Crystal Ball rated it "Likely Democratic" as of Oct. 11; and Inside Elections rated it "Likely Democratic" as of Oct. 2. On Kalshi, traders gave Democrats a 90.47 percent chance of winning as of Oct. 15.

Horsford won the district with about 52 percent of the vote in both 2022 and 2024, a margin that has held nearly unchanged across two cycles. He won his 2024 district seat in the same cycle in which Donald Trump carried Nevada statewide with about 51 percent of the vote. Democrats won three of Nevada's four U.S. House seats in both 2022 and 2024, with Republicans holding one seat each cycle.

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