Trump’s tweet reshuffles Nevada politics, helps Heller, Tarkanian

“It would be great for the Republican Party of Nevada, and it’s (sic) unity if good guy Danny Tarkanian would run for Congress and Dean Heller, who is doing a really good job, could run for Senate unopposed!” Trump tweeted Friday morning.

Tarkanian, who had been mounting a primary challenge against Heller for months, knew it was coming. He filed Friday for Congressional District 3 instead and thanked Trump for his “full support and endorsement.”

This is great news for Heller, and don’t think it happened by chance. Sometimes your greatest accomplishments come not from victory but by avoiding a fight in the first place. Heller has repaired his relationship with Trump like no other Republican who has been openly critical of the president. He leveraged that into a single, powerful tweet.

Let’s hope Heller taps those same political talents when Republicans have their next chance to finally repeal and replace Obamacare.

Heller would have won his primary against Tarkanian, but fighting a two-front war is costly. A nasty primary would have drained Heller’s financial resources, and Tarkanian attack ads would have hurt his standing with voters. Trump’s endorsement might even help Heller’s fundraising. Heller’s likely Democratic opponent, Rep. Jacky Rosen, has outraised him two quarters in a row.

Tarkanian’s pivot has allowed Heller to focus on defining Rosen. Rosen is still a political newbie, having gotten into politics just two years ago. Expect to hear lots about how Rosen parrots Democratic House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and supports far-left proposals like sanctuary cities.

National pundits routinely say that Heller’s seat is the most likely Senate seat to flip. Heller is vulnerable, especially given Democrats’ anti-Trump energy, but this race is a toss-up.

This is also the best-case scenario for Tarkanian because White House support for Heller had closed off Tarkanian’s path to a Senate primary victory. He now walks into the Republican CD3 primary with three times as much money as his nearest competitor, higher name ID and the president’s endorsement. He nearly won the CD3 race in 2016.

He’s a lock to win the primary. As one Republican consultant said, “Put your house on it.”

CD3 will be a tough race for Republicans in the general election. Democratic front-runner Susie Lee remains formidable. She is independently wealthy — to the tune of owning 17 houses — and had $601,000 cash on hand at the end of last year. That’s $150,000 more than Tarkanian.

Ironically, Tarkanian’s fate now depends on Heller doing well. Races at the top of the ticket turn out voters. If Heller does well, Tarkanian could find himself in Congress.

Conservatives should also be grateful that Tarkanian forced Heller to act like a Republican for at least a few months. Does tax reform get through the Senate if Heller isn’t worried about Tarkanian? It passed, and taxpayers and Las Vegas are now reaping the benefits.

It’s a long way until November, but Friday was a win-win-win — for Heller, Tarkanian and Trump’s use of Twitter.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at 9 a.m. with Kevin Wall on 790 Talk Now. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.