Three hours after President Donald Trump tweeted hope that Danny Tarkanian would leave his Senate challenge to Dean Heller in Nevada and run for Congress again, Tarkanian announced he would do just that.
“I entered the U.S. Senate race after receiving an outpouring of requests from Trump supporters throughout Nevada, many of whom stood by both me and Donald Trump in 2016,” read a Friday statement from Tarkanian. “These grassroots supporters saw in me a fierce defender of President Trump’s America First agenda.”
His words came in a release sent out just over three hours after Trump tweeted a nudge to Tarkanian that he hoped to see “good guy Danny Tarkanian” run for Congress and for Heller to run unopposed:
Tarkanian explained that the President and members of his political team reached out to him late on Wednesday with a request that he support the “America First agenda” as a congressional candidate in a district he “nearly won in 2016.” He added that his 2016 bid for Congress was “one of the most expensive and closest Congressional races in America.”
The now congressional candidate stated that he had never considered running again for the 3rd district congressional seat and that, as he traveled throughout the state campaigning in his U.S. Senate challenge to Heller, people repeatedly thanked him for running for the seat. “They believe in our message and the cause,” he said. He then offered praise and thanks to the mostly volunteer staff that “have invested thousands of hours into this cause.” He said he didn’t want to let them down.
Tarkanian went on:
I have always believed that public service is doing what is in the best interest of the people you represent, not yourself politically. I believe with every ounce of my body that the future of our country, and a better life for our children, requires the implementation of the America First agenda.
I am confident I would have won the US Senate race and done a great job representing the people of Nevada in the Senate, but the President is adamant that a unified Republican ticket in Nevada is the best direction for the America First movement. With President Trump’s full support and endorsement, I am filing to run again in CD3 with the firm belief that we will finish what we started in 2016 and win in 2018.
Tarkanian has been resolute in his campaign as an “America First” candidate who is supportive of Donald Trump.
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