Tarks endorse Berkley

Rep. Shelley Berkley rolled out a U.S. Senate endorsement today from Las Vegas institution Jerry Tarkanian and his wife Lois, a city councilwoman.

“We have known Shelley Berkley for years and have witnessed firsthand her fierce advocacy on behalf of Nevada’s seniors, veterans, and middle-class families," the Tarkanians said in a statement put out by the Berkley campaign.

Jerry Tarkanian coached UNLV basketball during its championship heydays of the early 1970s through the early 1990s, and remains a celebrity among Las Vegans of that era, even as it included battles with the NCAA as well as winning teams.

Lois Tarkanian is an educator who was elected to the city council in 2005.  She is a Democrat while her husband is a registered Republican, although not known for getting involved in local politics.

While Berkley, a Democrat, welcomed the endorsement, it may cause a bit of heartburn elsewhere in the Tarkanian family.  Son Danny is a Republican lawyer and businessman who ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 2010.   His wife Amy is  chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party.

"With the state’s unemployment rate the highest in the nation, she will fight to create jobs, turn the economy around and protect Medicare," the Tarkanians said of Berkley.  "Nevada would be lucky to have a leader like Shelley whose honesty, integrity and commitment to serve will benefit all Nevadans."