Jonathan Christopher "Jon" Porter (born May 16, 1955) is an American politician who served as a Republican member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, the first representative elected from the 3rd congressional district of Nevada. He won re-election in the 2006 midterm election against Tessa Hafen by a 48%–47% margin. On November 4, 2008, after three consecutive terms, he was defeated by Nevada State Senator Dina Titus, a Democrat and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Early life, education, and early political career

Porter was born in Fort Dodge,

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and graduated from Humboldt High School in Humboldt, Iowa. He attended Briar Cliff College and worked in his family business for several years before moving to

Boulder City, Nevada Boulder City is a city in Clark County, Nevada, United States. It is approximately southeast of Las Vegas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Boulder City was 14,885. The city took its name from Boulder Canyon ...

, a suburb of

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He began his political career in 1983 when he was elected to the Boulder City Council. That year he also became an agent for Farmers Insurance. Porter was elected mayor of Boulder City in 1987 and served in that capacity until 1991. He served in the

Nevada Senate The Nevada Senate is the upper house of the Nevada Legislature, the state legislature of U.S. state of Nevada, the lower house being the Nevada Assembly. It currently (2012–2021) consists of 21 members from single-member districts. In the pr ...

from 1994 until 2002.

U.S. House of Representatives

In December, 2005, he joined with several other congressmen to form the Second Amendments, a

bipartisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing Political party, politica ...

rock and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

band set to play for United States troops stationed overseas over the holiday season.

Elections

;2000 Porter lost the race for

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a bicameral legislature, including a lower body, the U.S. House of Representatives, and an upper body, the U.S. Senate. They both ...

in Nevada's 1st congressional district against Democratic incumbent

Shelley Berkley Shelley Berkley (née Rochelle Levine; born January 20, 1951) is an American businesswoman, politician and attorney who has served as Mayor of Las Vegas, mayor of Las Vegas since 2024. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic ...

. Berkley won 52% to 44%. ;2002 However, this immediately made him the frontrunner for the Republican nomination in the newly created 3rd District. The district had been created due to a population explosion in the Las Vegas area. Porter easily won the Republican nomination and faced Clark County Commissioner Dario Herrera. The race was considered one of the hottest in the nation, in part because the district had been created as a "fair fight" district. However, Herrera's campaign foundered due to ethical problems, most notably when he was paid $50,000 by the Las Vegas Housing Authority for "public relations work." Porter won 56% to 37%. ;2004 Porter defeated Tom Gallagher by a wider-than-expected 14-point margin (54% to 40%). ;2006 Porter won re-election over his opponent Tessa Hafen, former press secretary for U.S. Senator

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...

, with 48% to 47%. ;2008 The closeness of the 2006 race, combined with the marginal nature of the district, led Democrats to target Porter for defeat in 2008. After their initial choice, Clark County District Attorney Robert Daskas, dropped out for family reasons, the Democrats quickly recruited

State Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

Minority Leader Dina Titus, the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 2006. In the November 2008 election, Porter lost only the second general election of his career, taking 42 percent of the vote to Titus' 47 percent. Porter was likely hampered by a sharp increase in Democratic registration, as well as

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

carrying the district with 55 percent of the vote. Additionally, Porter was seen as a potentially strong challenger to

, the Democratic Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate who was up for reelection in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, so it was thought that Reid targeted Porter for defeat in order to eliminate him as a possible opponent.

Committee assignments

Porter was a member of the

Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

and the Budget Committee.

Post-congressional career

Lobbying

Since 2008, Porter leads Porter Group, a political lobbying and business consulting firm in Washington, D.C.

Volunteer work

* Music Maker Relief Foundation (board of directors) * Valley Health System (board of governors) * Farmers New World Life Insurance Company (board member)

References

External links

Porter for Congress
– campaign site *
Ledbetter Supreme Court Opinion

Porter Group, LLC
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Jon 1955 births Living people 20th-century mayors of places in Nevada Politicians from Fort Dodge, Iowa Nevada city council members People from Boulder City, Nevada Republican Party Nevada state senators People from Humboldt, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nevada Members of Congress who became lobbyists 21st-century Nevada politicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Nevada Legislature 21st-century members of the Nevada Legislature