Titus joins Porter in skipping convention

Democratic congressional candidate Dina Titus will skip the party's national convention in Denver next week, The Las Vegas Review Journal is reporting.

Titus (D-Henderson) will join her Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Jon Porter (R-Henderson) and stay in the 3rd Congressional District during their respective conventions, spokesman Andrew Stoddard told the paper.

Titus ""is going to stay in the district. She decided she could get a lot done here," Stoddard told the LVRJ.

Porter and Titus held the first debate of a hotly contested campaign Monday night in Henderson. Polls show the Democratic challenger is giving the incumbent a run for his money, and Democratic leaders believe the seat is ripe for the taking.

Elsewhere in Nevada, 2nd District Democrat Jill Derby will travel to Denver for the convention, but not without drawing criticism from the GOP, which issued a press release saying Derby was only going to the convention to cozy up to the Washington crowd.

Derby's opponent, freshman U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, will skip the GOP convention in St. Paul, Minn. in September.