Businessman Danny Tarkanian Will Challenge Nevada Sen. Heller in Primary
“I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration.”
Businessman Danny Tarkanian, who has run for different political offices in Nevada, announced on Fox this morning that will challenge Republican Nevada Senator Dean Heller next year in the primary.
Tarkanian called Heller a “Never-Trumper” and promised to carry out President Donald Trump’s policies. From NBC News:
Heller charted a meandering course through the Affordable Care Act repeal debate, leading Tarkanian to say the senator had “turned his back on us.” Heller stridently opposed an early version of the GOP health care plan before voting for the final bill in the Senate.
“I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration. I will continue to support President Trump’s policies that have led to a 20% increase in the stock market in just six months,” Tarkanian said in a statement announcing his candidacy.
Tarkanian also told Fox that people have contacted him to persuade him to challenge Heller, who is a vulnerable Republican since he’s the “only one holding a seat in a state carried by Clinton last year.” He claimed that Heller actually helped Clinton win the state due to his stance against Trump.
Heller’s office quickly reminded the media that Tarkanian has not won the five offices he has run for:
“Danny Tarkanian is a perennial candidate who has spent millions of dollars on five campaigns over the last decade. Nevada voters have rejected him every time,” Heller spokesman Tommy Ferraro said in a statement. “He’s wasted conservatives’ time and cost the Republican Party seats up and down the ballot. If he ultimately files for U.S. Senate he will lose in the primary.”
From Politico:
Tarkanian is the son of the late Jerry Tarkanian, who coached basketball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Danny Tarkanian has made numerous unsuccessful runs for office in the state, but he is well-known and has won several primaries in recent years. Tarkanian made losing bids for Nevada secretary of state in 2006, U.S. Senate in 2012 and Nevada’s 4th Congressional District seat in 2012. He came closest to winning office in 2016, losing the 3rd District race to Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen by less than 2 percentage points.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) immediately threw its support behind Heller. From The Hill:
“Time and again, Senator Dean Heller has proven he is unafraid to put Nevadans first,” Michael McAdams, a spokesman for the NRSC, said in a statement. “The NRSC fully supports Senator Heller in his primary and general elections, and we are confident he will be re-elected.”
But as NBC News points out, even though Tarkanian has failed before, the campaigns have made a name for himself in Nevada. This could “force Heller to divert resources and push the senator into more conservative positions than might be advisable in the Democratic-leaning state.”
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I will be vigorously supporting primary challenges this election. It’s RINO season, and I’m looking for trophies.
This guy will be opposed by everybody, and Nevada is almost illegal voter ground zero. Good luck.
“The National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) immediately threw its support behind Heller.”
Yeh, no. Those guys don’t get any of my money.
We’ll see…
My check book is out for Danny. Lets give him all the Bullet$ he needs in his belt
Its RINO Season – Remember to fill your tag and send these empty shirt liars home.
this is the first of hopefully many challenging
the establishment RINIO’s
One of the biggest problems is that many voters do not understand the need to vote in primaries, while the establishment voter base does. He needs a get-out-the-vote drive for the primary.
5 losses is a bit much, but he does have name recognition. He’s also talking a better game than squishy Heller.
Being a man ahead of my time, I sent a donation to Tarkanian in 2010 when he was running against the NRA candidate, Harry Reid.
How does he expect to win against the likely Democrat nominee, Jacky Rosen, in a state that voted against Trump, when he couldn’t even beat her in a House race in a district that went for Trump in a year when Trump was on the ballot?
Tarkanian has a proven track record of losing. If you want a viable challenger, you should look elsewhere.
I hope that many people are ” RINO,” hunting. We must make our elected officials, ” Do What They Campaigned,” to do. It is time to make ” Honesty,” their best policy. I know that is asking a lot, But we must make them accountable.