Dean Arthur Heller is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 15th Secretary of State of Nevada from 1995 to 2007 and U.S. Representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district from 2007 to 2011. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Brian Sandoval and elected to a full term in the 2012 election. Heller ran for a second term in 2018, but was defeated by Democrat Jacky Rosen. He was the only Republican U.S. Senator to lose re-election in the 2018 midterm elections.