Would Berkley have accepted a Senate appointment from a Democratic governor?

Would Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., have accepted a U.S. Senate appointment from a Democratic governor?

That was the question put to her Thursday, a day after her opponent Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., won a Senate appointment from Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.

At first she laughed.

"Well it's easy for me to say, 'Yes, of course I would have rejected it outright,'" Berkley told reporters at a Las Vegas event for her Senate campaign. "I don't know."

Some Democrats have criticized the appointment, but Berkley said it doesn't matter. Democrat Rory Reid -- U.S. Sen. Harry Reid's son -- lost the 2010 election to Sandoval. And she said the Heller appointment to replace resigning U.S. Sen. John Ensign doesn't change her game plan to battle Heller for the Senate seat in 2012.

"The reality is, this is what happened," Berkley said, adding she doesn't think it gives Heller any advantage. "It doesn't change a thing. I'm focused on November 2012."

The question came after Berkley was asked whether it was wise to spend what could be $500,000 on a special election Sandoval will have to call to replace Heller in his House seat once he vacates it. The expected spending by local election offices across most of the state would come as the governor proposes deep budget cuts, including for education, the TV reporter noted.

"I'm not sure I want to comment on that," Berkley said, but then did. "However, I find it interesting where in very, very difficult and challenging economic times in the state of Nevada, to be cutting education budgets and other vital interests of the people of Nevada to spend upwards of $1 million for a special election may not be a good expenditure of our resources."

Berkley also was asked about the possibility of tea party favorite Sharron Angle winning Heller's seat in what could be a crowded special election contest.

"The personalities might be different but the votes ... would be exactly the same," Berkley said.

Angle, a fiscal and social conservative, has long been on the outs with the GOP and has shed some core support since losing last year to Sen. Reid, who successfully painted her as "too extreme."

Heller, a fiscal conservative, has been among Republicans supporting plans to deeply cut government spending, yet he's seen as part of the GOP establishment and not on the fringe of the party.

At Berkley's news conference at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, she criticized a vote Heller and other Republicans took earlier this year that would have cut loan guarantees for clean energy projects. The program was included in a major spending bill. Berkley said cutting the loan program would have cost a solar project in Tonopah 600 jobs.

"It was a horrible mistake," she said of the vote, addng it was "bad for the people of Nevada."

Berkley was accompanied by four people, including union members who promoted clean energy projects for creating much needed jobs in Nevada.

"I'm standing up here beside Shelley Berkley today because she stands up for clean energy," said Robert Weedman, a 2010 UNLV graduate who's an electrician working part-time.

Berkley repeatedly called Heller "out of touch" with Nevada, using a label likely to be heard often for the next 18 months.

In the end, fundng for the clean energy loan program was restored as part of a budget deal Republicans cut with President Barack Obama to avoid a government shutdown. Heller was among a group of Republicans who voted against the deal, saying it didn't cut spending enough.

Heller's office defended his record on clean energy, which Republicans and Democrats alike have backed in the state to develop new industry.

"Congressman Heller supports renewable energy development in Nevada and believes it has the potential to be a growing industry in the state," his spokesman Stewart Bybee said in a statement. "Since coming to Congress, he has supported federal policies such as tax credits and a renewable portfolio standard that promote the production of renewable energy in our country. However, the federal government must stop spending money it does not have and it is necessary to evaluate what the best role for the federal government is in encouraging growth in this industry."

His office also noted that Heller recently introduced HR 1384 -- the Geothermal Tax Parity Act which would extend the 30% investment tax credit for geothermal energy through December 31, 2016.