Ruben Kihuen
| Ruben Kihuen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada's 4th district | |
|
Taking office January 3, 2017 | |
| Succeeding | Cresent Hardy |
| Member of the Nevada Senate from the 10th district | |
|
In office 2010–2016 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Coffin |
| Member of the Nevada Assembly from the 11th district | |
|
In office 2006–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Bob McCleary |
| Succeeded by | Olivia Diaz |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 25, 1980 Guadalajara, Mexico |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
Ruben Kihuen (born April 25, 1980) is an American politician from Nevada. A Democrat, he is a member of the Nevada Senate, representing the state's 10th district in Clark County.
In 2010, Kihuen was elected to the Nevada State Senate after the incumbent was term-limited. He had previously served in the Nevada State Assembly since 2006, when he defeated incumbent Bob McCleary in a primary election by 471 votes out of 1,642 total votes cast.[1] In 2016, he was elected to serve Nevada's 4th district in the U.S. House of Representatives.[2]
Early life and education
Kihuen was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and moved to the United States in 1988.[3] Kihuen's father was a laborer in Orange County, California, before moving to Las Vegas in the 1990s and becoming a middle school science teacher.[3] Kihuen attended Rancho High School and was named the 1997–1998 Nevada "soccer player of the year."[3] He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Science degree in education. While in high school and college, Kihuen volunteered for the campaigns of Senator Harry Reid, Virginia Governor Mark Warner, and Houston Mayor Lee Brown.[3] As of 2011, Kihuen was enrolled in the Master of Public Administration degree program at the University of Oklahoma.[4]
Early career
In 2002, Kihuen became a deputy field director for the Nevada Democratic Party.[3] He then served as regional representative to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.[3] He then worked as student recruiter and academic advisor for the College of Southern Nevada (CSN).[3] He is a past member of the Clark County Community Development Advisory Committee and the North Las Vegas Citizen's Advisory Committee.
Nevada legislature
First elected to the state assembly in 2006, Kihuen served two terms before successfully running for the state senate in 2010. During the 76th legislative session in 2011 he was the chair of the Senate Select Committee on Economic Growth and Employment. In the 77th legislative session in 2013, he chaired the Senate Standing Committee on Revenue and Economic Development and served as Majority Whip for the Democrats in the Senate.[5]
Congressional campaigns
2012
In September 2011, Kihuen announced his intention to represent Nevada's 1st congressional district [6] but withdrew a month before filing opened in February 2012[7] allowing former Representative Dina Titus to run without a contested primary.
2016
On March 28, 2015, Kihuen announced he was running for Congress in Nevada's 4th congressional district, seeking to defeat first-term incumbent Republican Cresent Hardy.[8] He defeated seven other candidates in the Democratic primary on June 14, 2016.[9] Kihuen spoke at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, the only 2016 House recruit to do so.[10] During the campaign, Kihuen was on leave from his job at the Las Vegas-based public relations firm the Ramirez Group.[11] Kihuen won the election by a vote of 128,680 (48.5%) to 118,220 (44.5%).[2]
References
- ↑ "NVSOS.GOV - Elections Results: 2006 Statewide Primary�Election Coverage and Reports". nvsos.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- 1 2 "Nevada U.S. House 4th District Results: Ruben Kihuen Wins". The New York Times. November 9, 2016. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jordan, Miriam (7 August 2007). "New Kingmaker: Vegas's Mr. Kihuen Will See You Now". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ "Members of the Nevada Legislature" (PDF). leg.state.nv.us/. Carson City, NV: Nevada Legislature. 2011. p. 26.
- ↑ "Details". state.nv.us. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ↑ Karoun Demirjian. "Dina Titus being pressured not to run for 1st Congressional District seat". LasVegasSun.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ↑ Karoun Demirjian. "Ruben Kihuen drops out of CD1 race, clearing way for Dina Titus". LasVegasSun.com. Retrieved April 24, 2015.
- ↑ Myers, Laura (March 28, 2015). "Nevada Sen. Ruben Kihuen announces bid for Congress". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
- ↑ Marin, Lesley (June 14, 2016). "Ruben Kihuen wins Democratic nomination for Congressional District 4". KTNV. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
- ↑ Pathe, Simone (25 July 2016). "Hispanic House Recruit Gets Prominent Speaking Slot at DNC". Roll Call. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- ↑ "Politically Connected PR Firm Subpoenaed in Councilman Probe". CBS. The Associated Press. September 29, 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.