Danny Tarkanian has beaten Michael Roberson in a hotly contested Republican primary for the southern Nevada House seat held by Rep. Joe Heck.
The 3rd Congressional District race was one of the most heated in the primary cycle, with candidates trading negative ads that called each other "Dirty Danny Tarkanian" and "Two-Faced Michael Roberson."
Tarkanian said the ads amounted to a smear campaign.
Whole family is here to support @DannyTarkanian running to replace Rep. Heck #NV03 . @KTNV pic.twitter.com/nXWYwooikj
— Mahsa Saeidi (@MahsaKTNV) June 15, 2016
Tarkanian is a businessman and son of the late UNLV basketball coach Danny Tarkanian. He's made five unsuccessful bids for office in the past and has criticized Roberson for helping pass a $1.4 billion tax package last year.
Roberson is a lawyer who's in the middle of his second term in the state Senate.
Roberson's campaign released the following statement after his loss.
"Congratulations to Danny Tarkanian on a hard fought race and his victory tonight for Congressional District 3. I would like to thank all of those that supported me and worked tirelessly on my behalf. I look forward to continuing my work as Senate Majority Leader and working to maintain Republican control of the state Senate in November."
Other Republican candidates included Assemblywoman Michele Fiore.
Tarkanian will face Democratic synagogue leader Jacky Rosen in November.
The 3rd Congressional district is competitive. Voter registration is essentially split between registered Democrats and Republicans.
