Race of the Day: Danny Tarkanian #NV04

Danny Tarkanian is the Republican nominee for the newly created Fourth Congressional District of Nevada.  The son of legendary UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian and current Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lois Tarkanian, Danny is a small business owner, operating a real estate investment firm.  

POLITICO reported this week that Tarkanian is working hard to win over the voters of the Fourth District – and it’s paying off: 

“By all accounts, Democrat Steven Horsford should be on a cakewalk to Washington in Nevada’s new 4th Congressional District.

“The district’s demographics — 36,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, the highest percentage of minority voters — would seem to heavily favor the first African-American to serve as state Senate majority leader. Also, Horsford’s opponent is a three-time loser with a $17 million court judgment hanging over him for a land deal gone awry.

“Nonetheless, Horsford is having trouble shoring up prominent black support and either runs even or trails his well-known challenger, Danny Tarkanian, in recent polls. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Just six months ago, Horsford was considered such a shoo-in he was asked by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to help raise money for Democrats in tougher races. His own campaign website even boasts a January newspaper headline branding him a ‘sure thing.’ The race is now a tossup, threatening what the DCCC sees as a must-win if Democrats are to come close to regaining the House.”

And yesterday, Political handicapper Stuart Rothenberg listed the Tarkanian/ Horsford race as one to watch, noting that “this new district was expected to elect a Democrat, but Republican Danny Tarkanian has been able to hold onto a lead.”