SENATOR DEAN HELLER WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION, WILL THE BASE REJECT HIM AFTER HE REJECTED TRUMP?

SENATOR DEAN HELLER WILL RUN FOR RE-ELECTION, WILL THE BASE REJECT HIM AFTER HE REJECTED TRUMP?

December 30, 2016

With the midterm elections two years away, Republican US Senator Dean Heller announced today he will run for reelection rather than for Nevada Govenor. Many insiders speculated he would run for Nevada Govenor, but today Heller put the speculation to rest. The real question will be, after offending so many base supporters for failing to support Donald Trump after he was the nominee, will he survive a primary, and if he does, will base voters vote none of the above by the thousands as they did after Joe Heck turned his back on Trump in a general eleciton handing the election to the Democrat.

After Sen. Heller refused to support Donald Trump, he is electing to stay in Washington D.C.. Heller has a 58% conservative voting record out of a possible 100% putting him close to the bottom among Republicans in the US Senate. So over the next 12 months he must prove he can work with President Donald Trump on issues near and dear to Nevada voters like border security, sanctuary cities, refugees, China, Russia and rebuilding our manufacturing base moving to the right if he hopes to win reelection.

But with a very moderate voting record in the Senate, backed by a very unpopular Govenor among Republican base voters who felt betrayed after the $1.3 Billion tax increase in 2015, Heller may need to distance himself from the moderate wing, which got wiped out this year in the general election up and down the ticket if he hopes to survive. President Trump has a long memory, so it will be interesting to see if Trump backs Heller or backs a challenger he is certain to get.

Rob Lauer

Political Reporter

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