The Eye

Guedry, who resigned as executive vice president for the Nevada-based City National Bank earlier this year, quickly received backup from national Republican Party officials in his effort to label Titus as a political insider and ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

"As a businessman and devoted community leader, John Guedry will offer Nevada's voters a refreshing contrast to career politician Dina Titus, a loyal rubber stamp for Nancy Pelosi's reckless tax-and-spend agenda," said a statement by Joanna Burgos, spokeswoman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, the campaign arm of the House GOP.

And the Guedry campaign and the GOP are also already working to neutralize an easy point of attack for Democrats, his background in banking at a time when the nation's economy is still reeling from last year's unraveling of the financial sector. Republicans are emphasizing that Guedry worked at a local community bank, not a Wall Street financial behemoth.

Guedry's bio, sent to reporters Tuesday, reads in part: "While Wall Street banks issued risky loans, preyed on the vulnerable, and hid their mess in invented mechanisms, John Guedry and his team remained true to honest, smart, ethical lending practices. John's Nevada operations refused to engage in sub-prime lending or the risky investments so popular on Wall Street."

Guedry may not have the Republican primary field to himself. Businessman Brian Scroggins -- a former Republican Party chairman in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas and its 3rd District suburbs -- has also expressed interest, and other state and local officials could also join the fray.

While Titus scored a major victory for the Democrats by unseating three-term Republican Rep. Jon Porter , she did so by 47 percent to 42 percent, with the rest going to a scattering of independent and alternative party candidates. Her plurality vote share in the last election and the recession-prompted unease among voters in a district hit hard by home foreclosures and the loss of construction and tourism revenue make Titus an appealing target for the GOP looking to regain ground lost in the past two election cycles.

But Titus has political experience and campaign chops that will make her tough to unseat. She has had more than a half-year jump on the Republican competition in fundraising, and reported $479,000 in receipts and $441,000 in cash on hand as of June 30.

CQ Politics rates the general election contest Leans Democratic.

To see how all of the 2010 House races are shaping up, check out the CQ Politics' election map.