Heller won’t rule out run for Nevada governor in 2018
Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), the top target for Senate Democrats in the 2018 midterms, isn’t ruling out running for governor instead.
In an interview Thursday, the senator said he enjoys his current job but indicated he’s keeping his options open. The state’s current governor, Republican Brian Sandoval, is termed out in two years.
“I like what I do, so I’ll consider it but I like what I do,” Heller, a critical swing vote on matters such as immigration reform and extending unemployment benefits, said. Asked to elaborate, he responded: “I’m not going to tell you what that means. I’m happy with my job.”
There is no clear-cut Democratic candidate to challenge Heller for his Senate seat. But Democrats will have to make a serious run at him in 2018 simply because he is the only Republican-held swing state senator up for reelection and they will need to go on offense somewhere.
Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto was just elected to succeed retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). Reid played a pivotal role in that race as well as the unsuccessful 2012 effort to defeat Heller, who was appointed to his seat by Sandoval in 2011 after the resignation of Republican John Ensign. Reid said last month he doesn’t intend to get involved in the 2018 Senate race.
As for the governor’s race, several Republicans are already apparently lining up to succeed Sandoval, which suggests that Heller could face a primary if he were to run for the slot. But Heller, who has been elected statewide several times, would be the immediate favorite if he jumped in. Notably, Heller won in 2012 even as Mitt Romney lost Nevada.
One factor Heller said he will consider is how productive Congress is next year with Donald Trump in the White House. Heller was critical of Trump but never fully opposed him, declaring in the fall that he was “100 percent against Clinton, 99 percent against Trump.” Heller was particularly skittish about Trump’s comments about women and Latinos, key constituencies in diverse Nevada.
Heller said it would be a mistake to predict what he’s going to do in two years, warning a reporter not to read into his comments about enjoying his job as a senator.
“I wouldn’t write about it if I were you. I wouldn’t write about it,” he said. “Whatever you write is going to be wrong.”