New ad rips 3rd Congressional District candidate Danny Tarkanian over Social Security stance

Democratic candidate Jacky Rosen’s congressional campaign released a television ad Wednesday that targets GOP rival Danny Tarkanian.

The two candidates are facing off in the 3rd Congressional District for the open seat of U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who is running for U.S. Senate.

The 31-second spot features a montage of senior citizens and workers. “The tea party Republicans in Congress want to cut Social Security,” one senior says.

“And Danny Tarkanian wants to join them,” another senior says.

A third senior adds: “He is proud to call himself a ‘tea party radical.’”

The ad cites a 2010 Review-Journal story about Tarkanian when he was a candidate seeking the GOP nomination in the U.S. Senate race. In that piece, Tarkanian had bragged that Glenn Beck, then with Fox News, had called him a “tea party radical.”

In the ad, a worker says that Tarkanian wants to “privatize Social Security.” The ad goes on to say this is “risking Social Security benefits on Wall Street” and adds that Tarkanian would raise the retirement age “just like the tea party Republicans in Congress.”

In a statement, Tarkanian Campaign Manager Jonathan Gormley called the ad a “misleading attack.”

“Danny Tarkanian believes Social Security is a sacred promise to our seniors and is committed to saving the program for future generations,” Gormley said. “Danny Tarkanian will ensure no cuts in benefits for current retirees or those near to retirement, no cuts to survivors or disability benefits, no increase in Social Security taxes on workers, and any new plan must be totally voluntary. We can save Social Security, but only by doing it the right way.”

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.