Sen. Heller draws GOP primary challenger in Nevada

Danny Tarkanian, a Nevada Republican months out of a failed bid for the House, has announced he will challenge Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) for his seat.

Heller is already considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for reelection in 2018. In an interview with Fox News on Tuesday, Tarkanian announced that he is mounting a run for the Senate, casting his decision as an opportunity to oust a lawmaker that has had a rocky relationship with President Trump.

“I have so many people that are contacting me over the past couple months saying ‘you gotta run against Dean Heller,’ ” Tarkanian said. “They understand, as I do, that we’re never going to make America great again unless we have senators in office that fully support President Trump and his America first agenda.”

{mosads}Tarkanian’s planned 2018 run will not be his first political campaign. Tarkanian, the son of the late University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, has mounted several unsuccessful bids over more than a decade, including a 2010 Senate campaign.

Most recently, Tarkanian narrowly lost the November 2016 race for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District to now-Rep. Jacky Rosen (D).

In his appearance on Fox News Tuesday, Tarkanian cast Heller as “one of the first ‘Never Trumpers’ in Nevada,” referring to those Republicans who opposed Trump’s candidacy during the 2016 presidential race.

“Now, even after President Trump’s been elected, Dean Heller has obstructed his agenda,” Tarkanian said.