Things are not looking good for Nevada U.S. Senator Dean Heller. Conservatives across the nation called him out for the way he handled the Obamacare votes last week, and a new poll shows just how vulnerable he really is.
The Daily Caller reported that Heller is in a politically vulnerable position should he face a primary challenger in 2018.
A new poll reveals Heller would face stiff competition from Republican Representative Mark Amodei, and businessman Danny Tarkanian, should either choose to enter the race.
In a three-way primary between Heller, Amodei and Tarkanian, Amodei received 27 percent, Heller 26 percent, and Tarkanian 21 percent. The poll has a 4.4 percent margin of error.
In a head to head versus Tarkanian, 38% of likely Republican primary voters said they’d support Dean Heller while 34% said Danny Tarkanian. 27% surveyed were unsure. With the 4.4% margin of error, the potential race is statistically tied.
The poll also found Senator Heller’s job approval among Republicans was only 31%.
“The speculation over whether Senator Dean Heller can hold onto his seat in a General Election is a waste of energy because he would be very unlikely to survive a primary,” said John Yob, CEO of Strategic National. “Senator Heller’s vote against the ‘clean repeal’ of Obamacare – after voting for the same bill in 2015 – seems to be the last straw for GOP Primary voters.”
“It is almost inconceivable that any United States Senator could survive a primary challenge with only a 31% job approval among voters of their own party,” said Yob. “The undecided voters usually break towards the challenger and if that happens in this potential race it wouldn’t even be close.”
The Daily Caller attributes Heller’s vulnerability to his “political balancing act” on health care. He first voted against the Senate Republicans replacement plan, but then voted for “skinny repeal” of the Affordable Care Act. They say it has “irked” both conservatives and Democrats.
With the results of this poll, it seems like a no brainer for Tarkanian to get in the race. He said in a recent interview he’s still mulling a run and will make a decision soon.
He has a great deal of support from the contingent of Republican voters that overwhelmingly caucused for Donald Trump in 2016. He’s an adamant defender of the President on social media and in the press.
“Worst thing Sen. Heller did was, he kept going back and forth and you couldn’t figure out where he stood,” Tarkanian said. “I think that the public deserves to have a representative in Washington, D.C., that will stand by their convictions and vote the way they campaigned on.”
