Hot Nev. Race Expected for Heller’s House Seat

A day after U.S. Rep. Dean Heller, a Nevada Republican, officially jumped into the race for U.S. Senate with the backing of party leaders, GOP contenders started the scrum to replace him.

Republicans who are floating names, commissioning polls, and talking to donors about the race for Heller’s 2nd Congressional District include Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki; Nevada Republican Chairman Mark Amodei; state Sen. Greg Brower of Reno; Kirk Lippold, former commander of the USS Cole; and former Assemblywoman Sharron Angle.

Angle, who lost a U.S. Senate bid to oust the incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Harry Reid in the fall 2010 elections, also is considering running against Heller in a primary race, the Las Vegas Sun reported Wednesday.

Some Democrats are hoping a GOP primary fight would open an avenue for their candidate to take the open congressional seat. Republicans see that as laughable.

“It’s totally ludicrous to think a Democrat has an opportunity in that district,” Ryan Erwin, a Republican consultant who has worked with Krolicki, told the newspaper. “For Democrats, it would be a Hail Mary from day one. It’s one of the most Republican districts in the entire nation.”