Dean Heller facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dean Heller
|
|
|---|---|
Official portrait, 2015
|
|
| United States Senator from Nevada |
|
| In office May 9, 2011 – January 3, 2019 |
|
| Preceded by | John Ensign |
| Succeeded by | Jacky Rosen |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nevada's 2nd district |
|
| In office January 3, 2007 – May 9, 2011 |
|
| Preceded by | Jim Gibbons |
| Succeeded by | Mark Amodei |
| 15th Secretary of State of Nevada | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007 |
|
| Governor | Bob Miller Kenny Guinn Jim Gibbons |
| Preceded by | Cheryl Lau |
| Succeeded by | Ross Miller |
| Member of the Nevada Assembly from the 40th district |
|
| In office November 1990 – November 1994 |
|
| Succeeded by | Thomas Fettic |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Dean Arthur Heller
May 10, 1960 Castro Valley, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Lynne Brombach |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | University of Southern California (BBA) |
Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician. He was a U.S. Senator for Nevada from 2011 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Before becoming a senator, he served as the 15th Secretary of State of Nevada from 1995 to 2007. He was also a U.S. Representative for Nevada's 2nd district from 2007 to 2011.
Nevada's Governor Brian Sandoval chose Heller to fill a Senate spot in 2011. Heller then won a full term in the 2012 election. He tried to win a second term in 2018 but lost to Democrat Jacky Rosen. In 2022, he ran for governor of Nevada but was not successful.
Contents
Growing Up and School
Heller was born in Castro Valley, California, on May 10, 1960. His parents were Janet and Charles Alfred "Jack" Heller. His father was a mechanic and stock car driver. When he was nine months old, his family moved to Carson City, Nevada. He has five brothers and sisters.
He finished high school at Carson High School in 1978. He then went to the University of Southern California. In 1985, he earned a degree in business, focusing on finance. While at college, he joined the Sigma Nu fraternity.
Early Career in Nevada
Nevada Assembly
Heller served in the Nevada Assembly for two terms, from 1990 to 1994. He represented Carson City, which is the capital of Nevada. During this time, he also worked as a banking consultant for Bank of America.
Nevada Secretary of State
In 1994, Heller was elected Secretary of State of Nevada. He was reelected twice, serving from 1995 to 2007. The Secretary of State is a top official in a state government. They handle many important tasks, like keeping official records and overseeing elections. As Secretary of State, Heller helped Nevada become the first state to use electronic voting machines that also left a paper record. This made it easier to check election results.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2006 Election
In 2005, Heller decided to run for the United States House of Representatives. He wanted to represent Nevada's 2nd congressional district. The person who held the seat before him, Jim Gibbons, decided to run for governor instead.
Heller won the Republican primary election in August 2006. He then won the main election against Jill Derby by a small amount of votes.
2008 Election
Heller ran for reelection in 2008 and won the Republican primary easily. He then defeated Jill Derby again in the general election. This time, he won by a larger margin.
2010 Election
In 2009, there were talks that Heller might run for governor or for the U.S. Senate. However, he decided to run for reelection to the House instead. He won his third term, defeating Nancy Price.
What He Did in the House
.jpg)
While in the House, Heller was a leader in the Congressional Western Caucus. This group focuses on issues important to states in the western U.S. He was against the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which was a government plan to help the economy during a financial crisis.
Committees He Was On
Heller was part of the Committee on Ways and Means. This committee handles important topics like taxes and government spending.
Serving in the U.S. Senate
Elections
2012 Election
In March 2011, U.S. Senator John Ensign resigned. Heller announced he would run for the United States Senate to take his place. Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval then appointed Heller to the Senate. Heller started his new role on May 9, 2011.
For his first full Senate term, Heller ran against U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley in November 2012. Heller won the election by a very close vote.
2018 Election
In 2017, Danny Tarkanian, a businessman who supported President Donald Trump, announced he would challenge Heller in the primary election. News reports said Heller was in a tough spot for reelection.
In 2018, President Trump convinced Tarkanian to drop out of the Senate race. Tarkanian decided to run for the House instead. This meant Heller would face Jacky Rosen, a Democrat, in the general election.
In November 2018, Heller lost to Jacky Rosen. Rosen won with 50% of the votes, while Heller received 45%. Even though Heller won in most of Nevada's counties, Rosen won in the two largest ones, Clark (where Las Vegas is) and Washoe (where Reno is). This helped her win the election.
What He Did in the Senate
In 2013, Heller introduced a bill called the "Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act." This bill would make it easier for volunteer search and rescue groups to get permits quickly to search on federal lands. He said it was important to help families find their lost loved ones without government delays.
In 2013, Heller was one of 18 senators who voted against a bill to reopen the government during a shutdown. He felt the bill did not fix the main problems that caused the shutdown.
Committees He Was On
Heller was a member of several important Senate committees:
- Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Committee on Finance
- Committee on Veterans' Affairs
These committees deal with many different topics, from money and housing to transportation and support for military veterans.
His Political Views
Heller is a Republican. He was known for working with both parties. In 2010, he criticized President Obama for comments about Las Vegas. Later, his relationship with President Trump changed. At first, Heller was against Trump, but over time, they worked more closely together.
Cuba
Heller supported President Barack Obama's plan to improve relations with Cuba. He even visited Havana as part of a group of politicians.
Economy
Heller was against a government plan in 2008 that aimed to help big banks during a financial crisis. He also opposed a plan to help the car industry.
Energy and Environment
Heller supported getting oil, gas, and coal from within the U.S. He also supported tax breaks for clean energy sources like solar and wind power.
He spoke out against the Trump administration's plans to reopen the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository in Nevada. He believed it was unsafe and went against Nevada's wishes.
Gun Policy
The NRA Political Victory Fund, a gun rights group, supported Heller in his 2012 Senate race. He voted in 2011 to let veterans register guns bought overseas in the U.S.
In 2013, Heller voted against laws that would limit gun magazine size, ban certain types of weapons, and expand background checks for gun sales. He was worried that expanded background checks could lead to a national gun registry.
Relationship with President Donald Trump
During the 2016 election, Heller said he was "strongly against" Donald Trump. However, by 2018, he had started to support Trump more. After Trump threatened to support someone else against him, Heller changed his views on some topics, like health care. In 2018, Trump supported Heller in his Senate campaign.
Heller also spoke out against Trump's plans for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste site in Nevada.
Health Care
Heller voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, also known as Obamacare. He questioned if the law was constitutional.
In 2017, Heller initially opposed a Republican bill to replace Obamacare. He said he couldn't support a bill that would take away health insurance from many Americans. Later, he voted to allow debate on the bill. He eventually voted for a "skinny" repeal of Obamacare, but it did not pass.
During his 2018 reelection campaign, Heller said he had worked on a bill that would protect people with existing health conditions. However, some reports said the bill he supported might have weakened those protections.
Immigration
In 2010, Heller voted against the DREAM Act, which would have given a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants who went to college or joined the military. In 2013, he voted for a larger immigration reform bill.
Heller was against President Trump's 2017 order that temporarily banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. He said he supported checking people carefully but was worried it looked like a religious ban.
Israel
Heller's 2012 campaign included his support for Israel. He believes the U.S. should help Israel defend itself. He also supports actions against Iran if it tries to get nuclear weapons.
In 2011 and 2017, Heller introduced bills to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This would recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Workers' Rights
Heller is against a law that would make it easier for workers to form unions without secret ballots.
LGBT Rights
Heller voted against ending the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, which meant gay people could serve in the military as long as they didn't reveal their sexual orientation. In 2013, he said he supported a law to stop job discrimination based on sexual orientation. He is against same-sex marriage. However, in 2015, he voted to support Social Security and veterans benefits for married gay couples.
Minimum Wage
Heller voted against raising the federal minimum wage in 2007. In 2014, he opposed a bill to raise the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. He believed that each state should decide its own minimum wage.
Unemployment Help
In 2014, Heller helped lead an effort in the Senate to pass a law that would extend unemployment benefits for many Americans.
School Safety
In 2018, Heller and other senators introduced a bill called the "STOP School Violence Act." This bill would provide money to improve school security and help prevent violence.
Supreme Court
After Justice Antonin Scalia passed away, Heller was the first Republican senator to say that President Obama should choose a new justice. He felt that the people of Nevada should have a say in who replaced Scalia.
In 2017, he voted to approve Neil Gorsuch as a Supreme Court Justice. He also voted to change Senate rules, making it easier to approve Supreme Court nominees. In 2018, Heller voted to approve Brett Kavanaugh for the Supreme Court.
2022 Governor Campaign
In 2021, Dean Heller announced he would run for governor of Nevada as a Republican. He hoped to challenge the current Democratic governor, Steve Sisolak. At first, many thought he would win the Republican nomination.
However, his popularity was hurt because he did not agree with the results of the 2020 United States presidential election. The Sheriff of Clark County, Joe Lombardo, became more popular in the polls. Lombardo won the Republican nomination in June 2022, defeating Heller and other candidates. After this, Heller supported Lombardo for governor.
Personal Life
Heller is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Lynne, have four children and two grandchildren. His son-in-law, Ed Ableser, was a Democratic politician in Arizona.
Heller helped start the Boys and Girls Club of Western Nevada and the Western Nevada Community College Foundation. He also advises Nevada's Foster Grandparent program.
His wife, Lynne, was on the TV game show Family Feud in 1985 with her family. They won over $18,000.
Images for kids
-
Official portrait, 2015
-
Heller during the 112th United States Congress
-
Official portrait of Senator Dean Heller, 113th United States Congress
-
Heller meeting with Brett Kavanaugh, July 2018
See also
In Spanish: Dean Heller para niños
