Republican Rep. Joe Heck on Monday launched his campaign to take back Sen. Harry Reid’s Senate seat, after the top Senate Democrat announced in March he would not seek reelection.
Heck, a doctor who served in the U.S. Army Reserve, announced his run Monday morning in a 3-minute video posted online that features Heck touting his immigrant background, medical career and military background.
“I see in Nevada an unlimited opportunity…That’s why I’m running for the United States Senate,” Heck said in the video. “I’ve seen suffering in my family and in our Nevada families, that’s why I’ve devoted my life to healing the hurt, mending broken lives and fixing problems.”
Heck, who has served in Congress since 2011, will likely face off against former state attorney general Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democrat who has the backing of Reid and Democrats’ official senate campaign arm, the DSCC.
DSCC Communications Director Justin Barasky was quick to slam Heck on Monday as a congressman who has “spent his time in Washington catering to insurance companies, big banks and Washington special interests.”
Nevada is shaping up to be a battleground state in the 2016 election — not just for the Senate race but also in the presidential contest. Nevada’s junior senator is Dean Heller, a Republican.