GOP/POLITICS: “Sen. Dean Heller, a Nevada Republican up for re-election in 2018 who has been whipsawed by the politics of Congress’s health care debate, has drawn a conservative primary opponent promising to be a more reliable ally for President Donald Trump.
Danny Tarkanian, a Las Vegas businessman, announced his candidacy in a statement early Tuesday [8-8-17] morning, making real the threat Mr. Trump and his allies have made to challenge Republicans who didn’t consistently support the effort to repeal and replace the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare…
A primary challenge complicates the political outlook for Mr. Heller, whose seat is seen as one of the Democrats’ best prospects for a pickup in 2018. He won the seat in 2012, beating Democrat Shelley Berkley with 46% of the vote to 45%. He is the only Senate Republican up for re-election next year in a state that was won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Tommy Ferraro, a spokesman for the Heller campaign, called Mr. Tarkanian a “perennial candidate” who will be defeated in the primary.”
-Janet Hook, “Nevada Senator Faces Challenge in 2018 GOP Senate Primary,” The Wall Street Journal online, Aug. 8, 2017 10:34am