Danny Tarkanian is out of the Nevada Senate race, but unfortunately not forgotten from politics.
The prolapsed and perennial candidate ended his primary challenge against incumbent Sen. Dean Heller and, at President Trump’s request, will instead launch a bid for an open House seat. It was an interesting solution to one of the GOP’s most vexing races. Heller was barely hanging on against Tarkanian when Trump floated a bargain on Twitter.
It would be great for the Republican Party of Nevada, and it’s unity if good guy Danny Tarkanian would run for Congress and Dean Heller, who is doing a really good job, could run for Senate unopposed!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 16, 2018
Within an hour, Tarkanian obliged. After repeatedly telling local reporters that he wasn’t interested in switching races, the candidate declared his candidacy for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District and he did it at the last moment possible. The state’s filing deadline is today.
Someone got swindled in the Silver State. But we won’t figure out who got the upper hand until election day. At first glance, it looks like Tarkanian won a game of chicken with his own party. By sapping the energy and resources of Heller, he was deliberately threatening the Republican Senate majority. Even if he won the primary, it seems more than unlikely that Tarkanian, a perennial election loser, could’ve survived Democrat Rep. Jacky Rosen in the general. Tarkanian says otherwise but remember Nevada is more than bluish.
That threat was enough to extract an endorsement from the White House, something that likely wouldn’t have happened otherwise. While Trump has his own equally colorful past, there isn’t a plausible scenario were the administration risks political capital and control of the upper chamber on a candidate who palls around with pimps and buys endorsements.
At the same time, the administration might have solved the ongoing Tarkanian problem. This race isn’t his first rodeo. Tarkanian has run for state Senate, Nevada secretary of state, U.S. Senate (twice), the House of Representatives (now three times). He hasn’t won once. If Tarkanian can’t win this seventh election with a presidential endorsement, Tarkanian can’t win desert dog catcher and can be forever dismissed.
But for now, one thing is certain: Trump just did Heller a solid.
