Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., speaks with Roll Call in her office on Capitol Hill, Oct. 26, 2017. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

(JTA) — Jacky Rosen, a former synagogue president and a freshman Democratic Congresswoman from Nevada, defeated sitting Sen. Dean Heller.

Rosen defeated Heller with 50.8 percent of the vote to Heller’s 45 percent.

Rosen, a former software developer, was talked into running by former Sen. Harry Reid, who believed she was the likeliest challenger to unseat Republican incumbent Dean Heller.

Reid, who retired last year as the party leader in the Senate, remains a powerhouse in Nevada politics and still has a say in whom the party advances.

Prior to her successful congressional run last year, Rosen’s only elective experience was as president of Ner Tamid, a Reform synagogue in suburban Las Vegas.

The focus of Rosen’s campaign has been education — the public school system in Nevada is notoriously underfunded — and the environment. She has taken a centrist pro-Israel line, saying she would have opposed the 2015 Iran nuclear pact.

Following Heller’s phone call to concede, Rosen tweeted: “Thank you, Senator Heller for your many years of public service to our state.”

Thank you, Senator Heller for your many years of public service to our state. https://t.co/BkZwqMl1bs

— Jacky Rosen (@RosenforNevada) November 7, 2018

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