To: Interested Parties
From: Barb Solish, Regional Press Secretary
Date: June 14, 2016
RE: The Case Against Danny Tarkanian
Tonight’s Nevada primary results mark the beginning of the general election race for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District. Henderson community leader Jacky Rosen begins the race in a strong position against Danny “I just really want to get elected to something” Tarkanian.
This isn’t Tarkanian’s first run for office. It’s not even his fourth. At this point, Tarkanian is so good at running for office, it’s clear he just really wants to get elected to something – anything – but can’t accept the fact that voters don’t want to elect him.
And for good reason: Tarkanian is out of touch, scandal-ridden, and the worst kind of Trump lemming.
OUT OF TOUCH
Tarkanian isn’t in line with voters in Nevada’s 3rd District, especially when it comes to protecting Social Security. He has said repeatedly that he would raise the eligibility age for this critical program, a position he took the last time he ran for Congress (he lost then, too). He also advocated privatizing Social Security, another stance that puts him well outside the mainstream in Nevada.
Tarkanian is also out of step with Nevada women, supporting defunding Planned Parenthood and opposing a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape and incest.
He’s broken with Republicans and Democrats across the state by endorsing proposals to let nuclear waste come to Yucca Mountain, and he even believes the science of climate change is “fraudulent.”
SCANDAL-RIDDEN
Speaking of fraud…in 2012, Tarkanian was slapped with a $17 million judgment over a loan he guaranteed for a resort development in California. Tarkanian swore up and down during the campaign (the one he lost) that he would prove he was defrauded and he wouldn’t have to pay, but then the court ordered his wages and assets be garnished. He eventually sought bankruptcy protection, settled for a fraction of the full amount he owed, but then seriously stretched the truth about whether he’d paid his debts “in full” when it became an issue in this year’s primary.
Tarkanian also has a history of not paying his property taxes on time, and he was even sanctioned and fined by the state Supreme Court “for signing legal papers while his law license was inactive.”
TRUMP LEMMING
Danny Tarkanian supports Donald Trump, but the similarities run far deeper than that. He wants to build a wall on the border like Donald Trump. He wants to defund Planned Parenthood like Donald Trump. He is sometimes prone to childish behavior like Donald Trump. He has a history of making racially insensitive statements like Donald Trump. And when Donald Trump made his most recent racist comments, Danny Tarkanian maintained his full-throated support before he even knew what Trump had said.
Past data predicts increased turnout this presidential year, particularly among women and Latinos, which favors Democrats. Trump’s historically toxic candidacy may well accelerate this trend, further imperiling Roberson’s chances. Donald Trump continues to have astronomically high disapproval ratings among Latinos and Asian Americans, who make up more than 17 percent and 13 percent of the 3rd District’s population, respectively. Trump’s willingness to be provocative and disrespectful on a daily basis won’t do him any favors.
BOTTOM LINE
Danny Tarkanian is headed for another loss in this swing district because he is out-of-touch, scandal-ridden, and the worst kind of Trump supporter.
And while the GOP’s messy primary was raging, Democrats were registering – in droves. This Southern Nevada district, which President Obama won in 2008 and 2012, now has 4,649 more registered Democrats than Republicans.
Nevada voters are going to reject Donald Trump at the polls and while they’re there, they’re going to send Jacky Rosen to Congress and hand Danny Tarkanian yet another electoral defeat.