Tarkanian must overcome history to avoid loser title
Danny Tarkanian is a four-time loser when it comes to politics.
Sure, he‘s won a couple of Republican primaries, but in the clutch, Tarkanian has always come up short. As one Review-Journal wag put it, Tarkanian‘s last big win came when he was lacing up his sneakers for the Runnin‘ Rebels.
But look closely at the numbers and you‘ll see Tarkanian always made his races competitive, never embarrassing himself and never descending to the level of perennial also-rans. Still, he‘ll have to overcome a lot of history to be successful in his latest bid for office: the Republican primary for the 3rd Congressional District.
Tarkanian, son of the late legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, started out in 2004. He ran against Democrat Mike Schneider for state Senate and lost by less than 2,000 votes.
He got more ambitious two years later, running for secretary of state in 2006. Tarkanian won a two-man primary easily, but lost to Democrat Ross Miller in the general election, 48 percent to 41 percent.
Tarkanian sat out the 2008 cycle, a wise move given the Democratic wave led by Barack Obama. But he returned in 2010 to compete in the 12-person Republican primary for incumbent Harry Reid’s U.S. Senate seat. Tarkanian came in third behind eventual winner Sharron Angle and hotelier Sue Lowden.
After that, it was the 4th Congressional District in 2012; Tarkanian won the GOP primary, defeating then-state Sen. Barbara Cegavske and seven others, only to lose to then-state Sen. Steven Horsford in the general election, 50 percent to 42 percent.
Tarkanian told the Review-Journal after that loss that he was done with politics: "My family and I are going to step out away from it and move on with our lives," he said then.
That lasted exactly two years, until he showed up in the spring of 2014 to file for the Board of Regents in District 2. Tarkanian quickly dropped out, saying he hadn‘t realized one of the challengers, attorney and former Review-Journal reporter Trevor Hayes, was a family friend.
Which brings us to today, and Tarkanian‘s latest bid. (Historical note: Tarkanian has run twice for Congress, but never in the district in which he actually lives, which is overwhelmingly Democratic and ably represented by Dina Titus. But the U.S. Constitution only requires representatives to live in their states, not a particular district.)
Tarkanian will face state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson, R-Henderson, who on Monday put out a "save the date" card for an Aug. 27 reception that‘s a who‘s who of Nevada Republicans, from Gov. Brian Sandoval to Sheldon Adelson to former Gov. Robert List to developer Tony Marnell to most of the top Republican consultants in the state. Message: Roberson is the establishment’s choice.
For Tarkanian, who has always styled himself as a fiscal, anti-tax conservative, this is an opportunity to appeal to voters displeased with Roberson’s role in getting Sandoval‘s tax plan approved in the 2015 Legislature. (A second conservative candidate, Dr. Annette Teijiero, will be competing for those same voters, but she doesn‘t have anywhere near Tarkanian‘s name recognition.) In that sense, this will be the primary Roberson managed to avoid in 2014, when an underfunded Carl Bunce tried to convince GOP voters Roberson would vote for taxes.
Roberson simply ignored Bunce and went on to campaign in the general on a pro-tax, pro-education reform agenda. He won’t have that option this time. But then again, he may not need it: Instead, Roberson can own that record by campaigning on reforming education and funding those reforms.
For Tarkanian, Republican primaries have often been kind. He‘s running now not just to win a title, but to erase a long string of losses.
Steve Sebelius is a Las Vegas Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or ssebelius@reviewjournal.com.
