Races to watch: Army general Joe Heck tries to storm the Senate

Army Reserve Brigadier General Joe Heck could be deploying to the U.S. Senate next year. Or he could be headed home.

Heck, a Republican congressman from Nevada, has emerged as leader on military personnel issues, mixing his personal experiences into his leadership role on the House Armed Services Committee.

The 54-year-old Iraq war veteran played a key role in the military retirement overhaul passed in 2015, and has spent much of this year pushing House Republican plans for similarly sweeping military health care reforms.

GOP leaders hope he can make the step from the lower chamber’s defense panel to the Senate Armed Services Committee, pairing him with fellow Iraq war veterans Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., as rising conservative defense stars.

But to do that, he’ll have to take over the Senate seat held for the last 20 years by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a giant in Nevada politics who has been focused on helping elect a Democratic replacement since he announced his retirement in March 2015. Current polls have the contest a toss up between Heck and Catherine Cortez Masto, who could become the first ever Latina senator.

More than $20 million in money from outside groups has been spent in the race, seen as a potential turning point for political control of the Senate. Securing the long-time Democratic seat would be a major win for Republicans, and could be critical in helping them maintain a slim majority.

“It’s the only seat the Democrats have to defend,” said Geoffrey Skelley, associate editor at Sabato’s Crystal Ball, nonpartisan campaign tracking project of the University of Virginia Center for Politics. “It’s hard to see how Republicans hold onto the Senate if they don’t win there.”

Heck’s path to that possible role started shortly after his work as medical director at the Casualty Care Research Center of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland. The Army reservist held that role for four years, stepping down in 2003 before winning a seat in the Nevada Senate.

His political and military careers have remained intertwined. On the campaign trail, he has told voters about the “military code of honor” that guides his life and frequently cites his 25 years of military service.

Heck graduated from the Army War College in 2006 while still in the state legislature, and stepped away from politics in 2008 to deploy to Iraq, overseeing a combat support hospital at Al Asad air base.

The Senate approved his promotion to brigadier general in September 2014, just a few weeks before he won his third House term. He made his military experience a key part of those campaigns and his current one, with the slogan “Nevada is safer with Joe Heck, on the battlefield and in the emergency room.”
But Masto supporters have painted it the opposite way, tying Heck to inflammatory statements made by his party’s standard bearer, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Heck initially endorsed the controversial businessman and stated publicly he had no worries with him controlling the country’s nuclear arsenal. He dropped that endorsement in recent weeks following a slew of sexual assault allegations against Trump, a move his campaign has admitted upset numerous local Republican voters.

In the contest’s only debate, held Oct. 14, Masto criticized Heck for his role Congress’ 2011 adoption of federal spending caps that have frustrated military budget planners ever since.

Heck countered by saying that he has worked to keep America safe by strengthening the military through responsible budget choices, including his advocacy in the House for military pay raises above the White House's proposals.

Both candidates were given a chance to ask their rival a question at the Carson City event. Mastro used hers to ask Heck about cashing a federal paycheck while failing to keep the government running during the 2013 partial federal shutdown. Heck countered with a question on how the U.S. should handle Chinese aggression in the South China Sea, in an attempt to highlight his confidence on broader national security issues.

In the end, Heck’s work in Congress and military service may be rendered moot in a Senate fight largely being dictated by outside forces.

To win, it appears Heck will need to outperform Trump by a sizable margin in Nevada on election day, a feat Skelley called difficult at best, given the demographics of the state and poll numbers which show more voters flocking to Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

If Heck can’t land the victory, Republicans will lose not only the seat but also another one of their key defense voices on Capitol Hill.