Nevada GOP representatives latest to un-endorse Trump

By Megan Messerly

Published Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 | 10:03 a.m.

Updated Saturday, Oct. 8, 2016 | 2:40 p.m.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Joe Heck and Congressman Cresent Hardy withdrew their support for Donald Trump this morning, saying they could no longer cast their ballot for their party’s presidential nominee.

The two join a growing list of candidates who, despite being in competitive congressional races where every Republican vote counts, decided to denounce Trump after lewd comments he made to an “Access Hollywood” host in 2005 surfaced yesterday. Trump downplayed the vulgar remarks — which included Trump boasting about getting away with groping women as a celebrity — and apologized if anyone was offended.

Heck is in a tight race against Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto to replace retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, while Hardy is battling for re-election in Nevada's Democratic-leaning 4th Congressional District.

Heck and Hardy both previously expressed full-throated support for Trump. Just last month, Heck said he trusted Trump with his finger on the nuclear button, while Hardy said he would do “whatever” to get Trump elected and that he would support him “100 percent."

All of that changed this morning at a rally in Sun City Summerlin of several dozen supporters where they voiced their dismay and disgust with the Republican presidential candidate.

“Now, I accept that none of us are perfect. Surely, I’m not infallible. However, I can no longer look past the behavior and comments that have been made by Donald Trump,” Heck said at the rally. "Therefore, I cannot in good conscience continue to support Donald Trump, nor can I vote for Hillary Clinton. My wife, my daughters, my mom, my sister and all women deserve better.”

Heck called on Trump to formally step down as the party’s presidential nominee to allow Republicans to elect a candidate “who will provide us with the strong leadership so desperately needed and one that Americans deserve."

Several people in the crowd booed Heck’s remarks, while one older man left the rally, telling staff he could no longer vote for Heck. Many of the younger volunteers in the crowd, meanwhile, cheered Heck's decision to no longer support Trump.

Heck’s Democrat opponent, former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, couched the decision to no longer support Heck as a purely political move in an attempt to save his career. In a statement, she noted that he said he had high hopes about Trump becoming president, that he completely supported Trump, and that he trusted Trump with the nuclear codes.

“What you’re seeing now is not leadership, it’s Joe Heck trying to save his career, but Joe Heck’s made it clear that he’s with Donald Trump,” Cortez Masto said.

Hardy echoed Heck’s sentiments, calling Trump’s remarks “degrading” and saying that he was “offended and dismayed” by Trump.

“In order to make a state with a strong family you have to respect women, wives and mothers, and that’s what starts with a strong family,” Hardy said. “And the disrespect that I’ve heard from recent videotapes, I will no longer support the guy at the head of the ticket for the Republican nomination."

Hardy said Clinton wasn’t the right choice for president, either.

"That lady has no integrity, she lies, she'll do whatever it takes to get her elected. We must always remember that,” Hardy said. "She’s not somebody that we want to elect or trust because of the things she's done.

Democratic state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, who is trying to oust Hardy from his seat, dismissed Hardy’s reversal.

“This politically calculated decision at the eleventh hour isn’t based on Congressman Hardy’s values or principles, it’s just a desperate and self-serving move to rescue his political career. It’s not going to work,” Kihuen said in a statement.

The morning rally was also attended by casino magnate Steve Wynn, Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, Nevada Sen. Dean Heller, and 2012 GOP nominee and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who said this summer that he would not vote for Trump.

At the rally, Romney sought to mend relationships with those people Trump has offended through his various remarks about women, religious groups, and immigrants, saying that’s not the way of the Republican party.

"I want to express on the behalf of myself and my party how much we love all the people of this country regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religion,” Romney said at the rally.

Heller has also been vocal about his distaste for Trump, saying he would not support or endorse him. Today, he said he is “100 percent” against Clinton and “99 percent sure” he’s voting against Trump.

Heller, who said previously that he would not support or endorse Trump, said that he’s “100 percent” against Clinton and “99 percent sure” he’s voting against Trump. He applauded the stand Heck and Hardy took today but wouldn’t go so far as to call on Republican congressional candidate Danny Tarkanian to do the same.

In a statement this afternoon, Tarkanian called Trump’s remarks on women “disgusting” and in conflict with what he teaches his children. However, he said he has been clear about the reasons he supports Trump over Clinton and that those reasons have not changed.

“This year, there will be millions of voters like myself who will be voting for a candidate they have reservations about,” Tarkanian said.

Hutchison and Gov. Brian Sandoval, both Republicans, also said today they do not support Trump. Sandoval said he finds Trump’s pattern of behavior “repulsive and unacceptable” in a statement.