50 Facts About Dean Heller

Dean Heller was appointed to the US Senate by Governor Brian Sandoval and elected to a full term in the 2012 election.

Dean Heller was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Nevada in 2022.

Dean Heller was born in Castro Valley, California, to Janet and Charles Alfred "Jack" Dean Heller, a mechanic and stock car driver.

Dean Heller graduated from Carson High School in 1978, and was accepted into the University of Southern California, where he earned his BBA, specializing in finance and securities analysis, from the USC Marshall School of Business in 1985.

Dean Heller served two terms in the Nevada Assembly from 1990 to 1994.

Dean Heller was elected secretary of state of Nevada in 1994 and reelected in 1998 and 2002, serving from 1995 to 2007, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives.

Dean Heller decided to run for the US House of Representatives in 2005 in Nevada's 2nd congressional district, after ten-year incumbent Republican Jim Gibbons decided to run for Governor of Nevada.

Dean Heller narrowly defeated State Assemblywoman Sharron Angle by 421 votes.

However, Dean Heller ran up enough of a margin in the rest of the district to win.

Dean Heller was likely helped by Gibbons' presence atop the ticket; Gibbons carried his former district in a landslide in his successful run for governor.

In 2009, Dean Heller was rumored to be a candidate to challenge embattled incumbent Republican Governor Jim Gibbons or Democratic United States Senator Harry Reid in 2010.

Dean Heller declined to run for Nevada Governor or US Senator and instead chose to run for reelection.

In March 2011, after US Senator John Ensign announced his resignation, Dean Heller declared that he would run for the United States Senate in 2012 to succeed him.

In 2013, Dean Heller was one of 18 Senators who voted against the bill to reopen the government during the United States government shutdown of 2013.

Dean Heller campaigned to be elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th US Congress, but was defeated by Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker on November 13,2014.

In 2010, Dean Heller criticized President Obama for using Las Vegas as a synonym for wasting money.

Dean Heller supported the initiative by President Barack Obama to normalize relations with Cuba, and was part of a bipartisan delegation to Havana.

Dean Heller opposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program characterizing the bill as "a massive bailout of Wall Street".

Dean Heller opposed the Auto Industry Financing and Restructuring Act of 2008.

Dean Heller has voted in support of the development of domestic oil, gas and coal.

Dean Heller has confronted the former Trump administration "over its plans to reopen" the Yucca Mountain facility, a large nuclear waste repository near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Specifically, Dean Heller is against Trump seeking $47.7 billion in his administration's budget request for fiscal year 2019 "to restart the licensing process for Yucca Mountain".

Dean Heller voted in 2011 to allow veterans to register guns bought overseas in the US During his 2012 campaign, he hosted a campaign rally at a gun store in Las Vegas.

In 2013, Dean Heller voted against legislation to limit gun magazine capacity, ban assault weapons and to expand background checks on gun sales at gun shows and made on the internet.

CNN noted that Dean Heller had "aligned himself closely" with Trump after the President in 2017 threatened to support a primary challenge against him.

In 2018, Dean Heller repeatedly confronted the Trump administration over its plans to reopen the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

Since Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, Dean Heller has repeatedly refused to acknowledge Biden winning the presidency.

Dean Heller voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010.

Dean Heller questioned the constitutionality of the law following its passage, and called on Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to join a multi-state lawsuit challenging it.

On January 19,2011, Dean Heller voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

In May 2013, Dean Heller introduced a bill to suspend $440 million in IRS funding to enforce Obamacare.

In June 2017, Dean Heller held a joint press conference with Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, where Dean Heller fervently opposed the American Health Care Act, the Republican Party's repeal and replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act.

Dean Heller was one of seven Republicans who voted 'no' to repealing the ACA without a replacement.

In 2010, Dean Heller voted against the DREAM Act, which would have provided a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrant minors provided that they join the military or go to university.

Dean Heller voted for the comprehensive immigration reform bill created by the "Gang of Eight" in 2013.

Politico wrote that Dean Heller has "often projected a moderate stance on immigration" but that supporting President Trump's immigration policies could be "useful heading into a primary challenge" from Danny Tarkanian.

In 2015, Dean Heller authored an amendment which provided training for airport security and border patrol personnel to identify victims of human trafficking.

In 2011 Dean Heller introduced the Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act of 2011, legislation that reaffirms the United States' commitment to Israel to relocate the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Dean Heller opposes the Employee Free Choice Act, proposed legislation that would effectively eliminate secret ballots in union organizing elections and subject employers and employees to mandatory arbitration when negotiating union contracts.

Dean Heller voted against the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 in the House of Representatives.

In 2015, Dean Heller voted to endorse Social Security and veterans benefits for married gay couples.

Dean Heller voted against the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007.

Dean Heller opposed the bill, arguing that Nevada already had a minimum wage higher than the federally mandated level and that he thought the minimum wage should be left up to the states.

Dean Heller voted for reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act in 2012.

Dean Heller voted for the "nuclear option", ending the three-fifths for Supreme Court nominees.

In October 2018, Dean Heller voted in favor of Brett Kavanaugh's successful nomination to the US Supreme Court.

Dean Heller was initially considered the favorite for the nomination.

Amid his failing campaign, Dean Heller made various attacks on Lombardo, including attacking Lombardo's decision to endorse Sisolak in the 2018 election instead of the Republican nominee Adam Laxalt, but Lombardo had a major fundraising advantage over Dean Heller.

Dean Heller was a founding board member of the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada and the Western Nevada Community College Foundation.

Dean Heller is an advisory board member for Nevada's Foster Grandparent program.