NV-Sen: Questions surround Democrat Jacky Rosen's repeated claims of having built a business

One of the major talking points of Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen's Senate campaign is her claim that she built a business when she moved to Nevada in the 1980s.

However, with no documentation or evidence that the business existed besides her word, incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller's campaign went on the attack, accusing the Democratic candidate of making up the story.

What do we know about Rosen's business?

Rosen has mentioned her business at numerous campaign stops and in media interviews, but the business does not have a name and she was apparently the only employee.

Since the business allegedly operated from 1993 to 2002, the companies she said she consulted for either did not keep the records or could not be reached.

From the Reno Gazette Journal:

Yet a Reno Gazette Journal review of public records found no evidence that Rosen held a state or local business license for the software consulting shop she’s referenced in interviews with C-SPAN, NBC Reno and other media outlets.

Rosen, a former computer programmer, said she ran a software consulting business that served two main clients: Southwest Gas and Radiology Specialists.

According to her campaign, her business updated Southwest Gas' customer service support software and provided a new billing system for Radiology Specialists.

What does the lack of documentation mean?

The fact that the state or city the business operated in lacks documentation of her business doesn't necessarily mean it didn't exist.

The Gazette Journal reported that Nevada officials said Rosen wouldn't have needed to get a state license for the business before 2003, since she didn't hire any employees.

Local officials in Henderson, where the business reportedly operated, said business records are destroyed one year after a business either closes or does not renew its license.

Rosen's campaign said she "did not keep these kinds of forms from roughly two decades ago" regarding business licenses.

What else?

Heller is the only Republican incumbent senator up for re-election in a state that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, and Democrats see the race as one of the party’s best opportunities to gain a seat.