Nevada Democrats keep 3 US House seats as incumbents fend off GOP

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Three U.S. House seats in Nevada will remain under Democratic control after a sweeping win Thursday for the incumbents, while the state's tight Senate race was still too early to call.

The Associated Press has declared Democratic Reps. Dina Titus, Susie Lee and Steven Horsford winners in their respective races. The state's lone Republican Congressman, Mark Amodei, cruised to victory Tuesday night in his reliably red district in northern Nevada.

Lee won over conservative policy analyst Drew Johnson in what is widely considered the state's most competitive district, which covers a large swath of the culturally diverse Spring Valley neighborhood in Las Vegas and more rural areas of southern Nevada.

Horsford, a four-term congressman who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, defeated former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee in a district that stretches north from Las Vegas, toward rural Nye County in the west and along the Utah border in the eastern portion of the district.

For Titus, it was the second election in a row that she defeated Republican Mark Robertson, a retired Army colonel, to keep her seat in the Las Vegas district she has represented for more than a decade.

All three incumbents, in separate statements, vowed to continue their work to lower costs in the state and to create more jobs. Their challengers conceded Thursday.

Johnson said in a statement he was proud of the race he ran, and that he was encouraged by President elect-Donald Trump's decisive victory. John Lee, in a brief phone call with AP, also said he ran a good race and was now “looking forward to Trump bringing this nation back around.”

Robertson, meanwhile, told AP he had called Titus to congratulate her, saying he respected the will of Nevada voters and that he and Titus spoke about possibly working together “on a future issue.”

In 2021, Democrats sacrificed part of Titus' district — the party's traditional stronghold — in exchange for some gains in neighboring swing districts.

Titus, the longest-serving member of the Nevada delegation in Washington, D.C., has been reelected every two years since winning her seat in 2013. Robertson, her opponent this year, has never held political office and echoed policies favored by Trump on border security, inflation and the economy.

Horsford, meanwhile, became the first Black person to represent Nevada in Congress when he was elected to the House in 2012. He lost in 2014 but has since won in four straight elections.

Susie Lee first won her seat in 2018, succeeding now-Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

Associated Press writers Ken Ritter in Las Vegas and Anita Snow in Phoenix contributed to this report.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo speaks during a press conference Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., hugs her daughter Miranda Rosen as her husband Larry Rosen, left, looks on during an election watch party Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., reacts to the crowd after speaking to supporters during an election watch party Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo speaks during a press conference Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

Prince Israel Zaar, second from right, poses for a photo with performers from an events company after voting at Las Vegas City Hall, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Las Vegas. (K.M. Cannon/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP)

FILE - Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., arrives to speak before a campaign appearance by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris, File)

FILE - Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., speaks before a campaign appearance by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Sept. 29, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Sam Morris, File)

An Azerbaijani airliner has crashed in Kazakhstan after being diverted, killing 38 of 67 people on board.

Some things to know about the crash and the speculation about a possible cause:

Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was en route from Azerbaijani capital Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons that aren't fully clear yet. It crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau, Kazakhstan, after flying east across the Caspian Sea.

The plane went down near the coast about 3 kilometers (around 2 miles) from Aktau. Cellphone footage circulating online appeared to show the aircraft making a steep descent before hitting the ground and exploding in a fireball.

Rescuers have rushed 29 people who survived the crash to hospitals.

Azerbaijan observed a nationwide day of mourning on Thursday. National flags were lowered across the country, traffic across the country stopped at noon, and signals were sounded from ships and trains.

Speaking at a news conference Wednesday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the weather had forced the plane to change from its planned course.

Kazakhstani, Azerbaijani and Russian authorities say they are investigating the crash. Embraer told The Associated Press in a statement that the company is “ready to assist all relevant authorities.”

Russia’s civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsia, said that preliminary information indicated that the pilots diverted to Aktau after a bird strike led to an emergency on board.

Some commentators alleged that the holes seen in the plane’s tail section pictured after the crash possibly indicate that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.

Osprey Flight Solutions, an aviation security firm based in the United Kingdom, warned its clients that the “Azerbaijan Airlines flight was likely shot down by a Russian military air-defense system.”

Osprey CEO Andrew Nicholson said that the company had issued more than 200 alerts regarding drone attacks and air defense systems in Russia during the war.

Asked Thursday about the claims that the plane had been fired upon by air defense assets, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “it would be wrong to make hypotheses before investigators make their verdict.”

Officials in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan have similarly avoided comment on a possible cause of the crash, saying it will be up to investigators to determine it.

Flowers and portraits are placed at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

In this image taken from video released by the Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov lays a bunch of flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)

Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in front of a Government's building in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)

The wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lays on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Azamat Sarsenbayev)

Azerbaijan's national flag at half-mast in the memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, is seen in the center of Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Aziz Karimov)

In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, rescuers work at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, Members of an investigation committee and local officials walk past the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)

In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)