Nevada U.S. House Representative Dean Heller was appointed to the U.S. Senate by his fellow republican Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval to replace Senator John Ensign, who resigned May 3. Heller is the 20th LDS Church member to serve in the U.S. Senate and the fourth from Nevada.
The number of Mormons now serving in the Senate will be 6 and the number serving in the House will be reduced to 9. Nevada now becomes the only other state in history, other than Utah, to have two LDS church members serving together in the Senate. Harry Reid is the Democratic Senator from Nevada and has been serving since 1986.
Governor Sandoval will need to name a replacement for Heller to the U.S. House of Representatives, but names mentioned by media outlets throughout Nevada have not included any members of the LDS Church. Heller will join the Senate immediately.
Email: rmorgenegg@desnews.com
