Former Congressman James Bilbray joins with family members on stage as his daughter Erin, a congressional candidate, gives her concession speech during an election night party for Democrats at the MGM Grand Tuesday, November 4, 2014.
Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021 | 8:43 p.m.
Former U.S. Rep. James Bilbray, a Democrat from Nevada who served four terms in Congress, has died, state officials said Sunday. He was 83.
The cause of death wasn’t immediately released.
“Nevada lost a giant,” Gov. Steve Sisolak said in a tweet. “Jim Bilbray was a good friend, who I respected and loved. Through his years of public service to the state, I know his legacy will live on.”
Bilbray was born in Nevada in 1938 and attended UNLV although he received his undergraduate degree from American University in Washington and got his law degree from the Washington College of Law in 1964.
He was first admitted to the Nevada Bar in 1965 and was elected in 1980 to the Nevada state Senate where he served for six years.
Bilbray was elected to Congress in 1986 from Nevada’s 1st District, replacing Harry Reid who had been elected to the U.S. Senate.
Bilbray was defeated in his 1994 reelection bid for a fifth term.
Funeral plans and a complete list of Bilbray’s survivors weren’t immediately available Sunday.
