Politics

Republican Dean Heller Concedes To Jacky Rosen

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

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Andrew Kerr Investigative Reporter
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Incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada conceded to his Democratic opponent, Rep. Jacky Rosen, providing Democrats a lone pick up in a night where the GOP has strengthened their hold on the Senate.

Rosen had 50.9 percent of the vote to Heller’s 45 percent with 78 percent of precincts at the time of concession, according to The New York Times.

Heller called and congratulated Rosen over the phone before giving a concession speech in front of his supporters.

Heller was considered one of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans in the country. He was the only Republican up for election in a state won by Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Outside money dominated the race. Some $98 million has been poured into the contest, about two-thirds of which was spent by outside groups. Polls showed Rosen in a statistical tie with his Democratic opponent in the lead-up to election night, according to Real Clear Politics.

Rosen, a one-term representative who had no electoral experience prior to her election to Congress in 2016, was only six months into her post before announcing her candidacy for the Senate.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 22: (L-R) Clark County Commission Chairman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Sisolak, former U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Democratic candidate for Nevada's 3rd House District Susie Lee, and Democratic candidate for Nevada's 4th House District Steven Horsford hold hands and raise their arms after speaking at a get-out-the-vote rally at the Cox Pavilion as Obama campaigns for Nevada Democratic candidates on October 22, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Early voting in Clark County, Nevada began on October 20 and has recorded the highest turnout during the first two days of early voting in a midterm election. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – OCTOBER 22: (L-R) Clark County Commission Chairman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Sisolak, former U.S. President Barack Obama, U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Jacky Rosen (D-NV). (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

“With a majority of just two in the Senate, President Trump couldn’t possibly succeed with his hateful far-right agenda without the support of Senator Dean Heller,” Rosen said in her campaign announcement.

Rosen framed Heller as a “rubber stamp” for President Donald Trump throughout the campaign.

Heller embraced President Donald Trump on the campaign trail, a remarkable turnaround from 2016 when he said he was “vehemently opposed” to Trump’s candidacy. (RELATED: At Senate Debate, Republican Heller Touts His Good Relationship With Trump — But They Used To Fight ‘Like Cats And Dogs’)

Heller was initially opposed the Republican plan to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but flipped after Trump pressured the senator.

Rosen called Heller’s reversal on Obamacare the “biggest broken promise in modern Nevada history” at a Las Vegas rally on Friday.

“I’ll tell you where he stands, or where he flip-flops. I’m not sure he knows where he stands,” she said.

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