Dean Heller gets Nevada Senate primary challenge from Danny Tarkanian

Danny Tarkanian, the son of beloved former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian has announced a primary challenge to Republican Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada.

Tarkanian, 55, announced his intention to run against Heller on "Fox & Friends" on Tuesday morning, positioning himself as a conservative ally of President Donald Trump against an opponent who drew what appeared to be a warning from the president when he vacillated on whether to support Republicans' health care law.

"We're never going to make America great again unless we have senators in office that fully support President Trump and his America-first agenda," Tarkanian said.

In a statement released alongside his televised announcement, Tarkanian, a lawyer and businessman who has run unsuccessfully for political office in the past, said his campaign was intended to "send D.C. Dean Heller a message."

"Nevada deserves a Senator who will keep his word and vote in Washington DC the same way he campaigns here in Nevada," Tarkanian wrote. "I am a conservative Republican who supports the policies of President Trump to repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration."

"I will continue to support President Trump's policies that have led to a 20 percent increase in the stock market in just six months," he continued, pledging to fight for "real reforms against the liberals in our party."

Tarkanian most recently ran for Congress in Nevada's 3rd District, winning the Republican primary but narrowly losing to Democrat Jacky Rosen. Rosen has also declared her candidacy for Heller's Senate seat.

In 2012, he was the Republican nominee for a congressional seat from Nevada's 4th District but lost to Democrat Steven Horsford, and in the 2010 race against then-Sen. Harry Reid, he placed third behind eventual GOP nominee Sharron Angle. He also ran unsuccessfully for Nevada secretary of state in 2006 and for state senator in 2004.

Responding to Tarkanian's announcement, Heller's re-election campaign was dismissive.

"We are not surprised," spokesman Tommy Ferraro said. "Danny Tarkanian is a perennial candidate who has spent millions of dollars on five campaigns over the last decade. Nevada voters have rejected him every time."

Heller is considered the most vulnerable Republican senator up for re-election in 2018. Nevada has grown more reliably blue in recent elections, voting for the Democrat in the past three presidential elections. In 2016, voters in the state elected Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto to Reid's seat, and the party gained a seat to hold a 3-1 advantage in the state's congressional delegation.