Danny Tarkanian, the conservative candidate who is mounting a Republican primary challenge to Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) in Nevada, issued a statement on Monday that he has “signed a pledge promising not to support Mitch McConnell for Senate Majority Leader.”
Tom George, a reporter at KTNV in Las Vegas, broke the news in this tweet late Monday:
Tarkanian, son of the late UNLV and Fresno State basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, aggressively went after Heller, a strong ally of Senator McConnell (R-KY), the embattled Senate Majority leader. McConnell has been targeted for removal by former White House chief strategist and Breitbart executive chairman Steve Bannon for his failure to support the Trump agenda.
Bannon has set forward two key tests for challengers to establishment Republicans seeking his support in the 2018 Republican U.S. Senate primary season:
- Will you vote against Mitch McConnell for Senate Majority Leader?
- Will you support the end of the Senate filibuster?
“The Breitbart News head has yet to formally weigh in on Tarkanian and Nevada’s Senate race, but support from Bannon and GAA (the Great America Alliance) could give [him] the financial boost . . . to stay competitive,” the Hill reported.
Tarkanian pressed Heller “to make a a firm decision and go on record with his answer: Should McConnell continue his leadership in the Senate?”
“Or will he join me in signing the pledge to support a new leader?” the former UNLV point guard asked.
A poll in August by JMC Analytics gave Tarkanian a 39 percent to 31 percent lead over Heller in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate seat.
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