by Joe Simonson
Nevada has no records Rep. Jacky Rosen (D-NV-03) ever ran a small business in Nevada, despite her repeated claims that she started a consulting firm, according to documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation.
Rosen, a Democrat, is challenging Republican Sen. Dean Heller for his seat in the upcoming November election and is considered former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s handpicked successor.
In April, a public records request was filed with the Nevada secretary of state seeking a copy of any “Sole Proprietor Exemption” or “Sole Proprietor Registration” under Rosen or her maiden name between 1995 and 2005.
Less than a week later, a public information officer from the Nevada secretary of state responded in an email that no such records existed. Those registrations are necessary for any business owners in Nevada.
Rosen has routinely flaunted her business credentials, claiming her one-woman shop consulted with her former employer, Southwest Gas, and Radiology Specialists, where her husband was once a partner.
Rosen told a radio station in November that she “raised my family, I built a business – a woman in technology.”
When the Reno Gazette Journal asked her campaign about this discrepancy, a representative said Rosen “did not keep these kinds of forms from roughly two decades ago.”
“Jacky built a career as a computer programmer and software developer for major companies in Southern Nevada, and she used those tech skills to keep working as an independent consultant,” campaign spokesman Stewart Boss said. “Like many moms, she wanted to continue her career in business while also having more flexible hours so she could also focus on raising her daughter.”
Rosen’s campaign did not immediately respond to TheDCNF’s request for comment.
A Chicago native, many in her state know little about Rosen. A July 2016 in the Las Vegas Review-Journal said she struggles with “name recognition” and “remains a political unknown to most Southern Nevadans.”
The Reno Gazette reiterated that point, noting that Rosen is somewhat unknown to political pundits and voters.
Yet other questions about her past demonstrates a woman comfortable with massaging the facts surrounding her credentials — if not outright lying.
In a 2017 interview with C-SPAN, Rosen claimed she received a degree in psychology and “computers.”
“When I was in college in Minnesota, I actually got a degree in psychology and computers. I’m a computer programmer and systems analyst by trade,” Rosen said.
Subsequent articles, like one in The Atlantic from January 2017, cited her supposed computer science degree, as well as her actual degree in psychology, as an example of how she is one of the few congressional representatives with a scientific background.
Yet no such degree yet existed when Rosen was enrolled at the University of Minnesota. The Atlantic had to eventually run a correction.
Polls show that Rosen is considered the narrow favorite in her upcoming Senate bid against incumbent Heller.
– – –
Joe Simonson is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Joe on Twitter.
