LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Two-term Republican Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama announced Monday she will run for the seat held by Democratic U.S. Rep. Susie Lee.
Kasama and three other Republicans are pursuing the GOP spot on the ballot: Elizabeth Helgelien, Drew Johnson and Steve London.
Lee will be seeking her third term representing Nevada Congressional District 3 after defeating April Becker in 2022, 52% to 48%. Becker is running for a seat on the Clark County Commission.
“Serving the state of Nevada in the Assembly has been an honor. I’ve dedicated my time in Carson City to working for a better future for Nevadans and to be a voice for bipartisan, common-sense policies,” Kasama said in the news release.
“Today we see more crime, higher living expenses, and uncontrolled health care costs. Students are graduating with a lack of basic education and are unprepared to enter the workforce. There is a basic lack of accountability and personal responsibility. This is not the American way of life I grew up with. I will fight hard to change the direction of our country for the sake of my grandchildren and all Nevadans,” she said.
Before politics, Kasama started as a certified public accountant and went on to start her own real estate brokerage. She has served as president of the Nevada Realtors and the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. She lives in Summerlin.
The daughter of immigrants from Norway, Kasama said she will work toward restoring the American Dream. “My husband is an immigrant from Japan. Through hard work and grit, we built our American Dream. Every American deserves that opportunity,” she said.
She criticized Lee as a “reliable vote for Joe Biden’s failed agenda of inflation, taxes, and government overreach.”
One of her opponents in the Republican primary, Drew Johnson, criticized Kasama as the “most liberal Republican in Nevada” in a statement shortly after she announced her candidacy.
