Heck decides to challenge Titus instead
To heck with Carson City. The real prize is in Washington, D.C.
That’s what former state Sen. Joe Heck decided.
On Tuesday Heck, a Republican, officially announced he would drop out of the race for governor and challenge Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. for her congressional seat.
Heck never got traction in the governor’s race. Just 1 percent of likely voters polled in August said they would choose him over other candidates in the Republican primary.
When former banker John Guedry dropped out of the race against Titus last month, it created a void that Heck is attempting to fill.
“We must take action now to put our country back on a responsible track and I’m running for Congress to end the out-of-control deficit spending and government-takeover policies that are literally bankrupting this nation’s economy and future,” said Heck, a physician and Army reservist.
Heck’s campaign shift drew a quick response from the Nevada State Democratic Party.
“It seems Joe Heck is more interested in being in office than in doing anything in office, but given his record of extreme positions and special-interest giveaways, maybe we should be thankful for that,” said party spokeswoman Phoebe Sweet. “Nevadans don’t need an opportunist like Joe Heck looking for a nifty title and a taxpayer salary. They need a worker like Congresswoman Dina Titus who puts her constituents first.”
Heck says the economy, health care and national defense are the top three issues in the campaign.
He cites his experience in military service and as a physician and business owner as the source of his expertise on the subject.
Heck’s Web site has a detailed breakdown of what he considers, “the good, the bad and the ugly,” in proposed health insurance reform legislation.
Titus says her experience in Congress demonstrates her record on the issues.
“Already, Congresswoman Titus has cut taxes for 95 percent of Americans, expanded health care for Nevada’s children while protecting seniors from higher Medicare premiums, and introduced legislation to help prevent foreclosures in Nevada,” Titus spokesman Andrew Stoddard said.
According to the Nevada Secretary of State’s voter statistics, the district Heck and Titus seek to represent has 198,305 registered Democrats, 159,025 registered Republicans and 72,311 voters registered as nonpartisan.
Titus will be completing her first term after defeating former Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., by less than 18,000 votes in the 2008 election that featured then-presidential candidate Barack Obama, who fired up the Democratic base.
Contact reporter Benjamin Spillman at bspillman@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861.
