Meet Nevada's Joe Heck: The GOP Senate Candidate Who Has "High Hopes" of a Trump Presidency and Whose Backers Aired a Racist Ad

There’s just one thing you need to know about Joe Heck, a GOP candidate for U.S. Senate from Nevada: He’s dangerously similar to Donald Trump.

In fact, Heck reportedly said,

“I have high hopes that we will see Donald Trump become the next president.”

In case you needed a reminder, Donald Trump’s sexism and misogyny would translate into dangerous policies, like criminalizing abortion. He’s said he would punish women and doctors for accessing or providing safe, legal abortion.

Further, Donald Trump promises to rip Nevadan families apart with dangerous and offensive immigration policies, including deporting all undocumented immigrants from the country. But it’s no wonder that Joe Heck has “high hopes” for a president with these types of cruel policies. He’s just like him.

Joe Heck’s continued silence on the racist ad aired by his backers shows an extraordinary lack of leadership and denial of facts. These are not the values Nevada women need in their elected leaders.

Just take it from Rosita Castillo from Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates:

“As a Promotora educating the community on sexual and reproductive health care, I hear from the Latino community on a daily basis. The vast majority of Latinos believe that decisions about women’s health care should be left to a woman and her doctor in consultation with her faith and her family — not by politicians. Joe Heck’s attacks on women's health care and access to safe, legal abortion are a direct attack on our community and we will not stand for it.

The truth is Joe Heck isn’t all that different from Donald Trump. He’s dangerous for Nevada.

• Joe Heck has voted EIGHT times to block patients from care at Planned Parenthood.

• Joe Heck called the deeply unpopular Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision — which gave bosses the ability to deny their employees birth control — a “reasonable decision”.

• Joe Heck said that the ACA's birth control benefit, which has ensured that more than 55 million women have access to no-copay birth control, had "nothing to do" with women's health.

• Joe Heck voted against considering the Paycheck Fairness Act, which would address the gender pay gap. In Nevada, Latinas make 52 cents and African American women make 65 cents for every dollar paid to men.

• As a state Senator, Heck voted against funding for a rape crisis center and domestic violence prevention program. His campaign’s excuse was that he didn’t have time to read the bill.

• Heck voted against both the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which together would give deportation relief to millions of immigrants nationwide.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund endorsed Catherine Cortez Masto last week. She is the leader Nevada women need in the U.S. Senate to fight against attacks on reproductive freedom and attempts to block patients from care at Planned Parenthood, and stand up for equal pay, expand access to reproductive care, and move us into the 21st century.

Tags: Donald Trump, Election 2016, Nevada, Joe Heck