High-stakes Senate showdown will pit Heller vs. Rosen

The only surprise in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate primaries in Nevada might have been that the races weren’t called even sooner.

Incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller and Democrat Jacky Rosen were declared the winners within about an hour of the polls’ 7 p.m. closing, setting the stage for what promises to be a hotly contested race this fall with strong national implications.

The candidates have just under five months to prepare for the general election on Nov. 6 in one of the highest-stakes races in the Democrats’ push to regain a Senate majority for the second half of President Donald Trump’s fouryear term.

For Democrats to cut into the Republicans’ advantage, Heller’s seat is considered a mustwin.

Of the 35 Senate seats up for election this year, 26 are held by Democrats. The party will need to gain two more seats in November to win control of the chamber. The Senate has 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats.

Heller is the only Republican up for re-election representing a state that Hillary Clinton won in the 2016 general election.

Having won his seat with 46 percent of the

Tuesday’s results Jacky Rosen

faced five candidates seeking the Democratic nomination. She finished with 110,530 votes. Her closest challenger polled 6,340 votes.

easily outpaced his four challengers in the Republican primary. He won 99,472 votes, well above the 16,291 votes cast for the second-place finisher.

Dean Heller