Add Senator Dean Heller of Nevada to the ranks of Republican political candidates distancing themselves from Mitt Romney and his comments that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on the government and view themselves as victims.
“I have a very different view of the world, having grown up with a father who was an auto mechanic and a mother who was a school cook and five brothers and sisters,†said Mr. Heller, who is locked in a difficult campaign to be elected to the Senate seat he was appointed to.
Mr. Heller told a story of his father, who he said had been laid up after back surgery and dependent on assistance for the six to eight weeks he was out of work.
“I think the governme nt has a responsibility,†he said. “One of the responsibilities of the federal government is a safety net.â€
Mr. Heller joined Senator Scott P. Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, and Linda McMahon, a wrestling executive running for the Senate in Connecticut, who have out of their way to distance themselves from Mr. Romney's comments, captured in a leaked cellphone video from a fund-raiser in May.
Reaction to the tape has been divided between conservatives and lawmakers in safe Republican districts, who have generally applauded Mr. Romney's sentiments, and Republican candidates in swing states who have run from them.
