A Republican candidate running for Congress in Nevada says former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was right when he made his controversial "47 percent" remarks.

"Can I say that without getting in trouble like Gov. Romney," Cresent Hardy, a state assemblyman, said in a video posted online by the Nevada State Democratic Party. "The 47 percent is true. It's bigger now."

During the 2012 presidential campaign, a secretly recorded video from a private fundraiser caught Romney declaring that 47 percent of the electorate would "vote for the president no matter what."

"There are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it," he said, according to the video released by Mother Jones. "That that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what... These are people who pay no income tax."

Hardy is running against incumbent Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) to represent District 4, which includes North Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Sun reports that Horsford is a heavy favorite to win re-election.

UPDATE: Hardy released a statement to The Huffington Post through his consultants saying he's not "slick or polished."

"I grew up on a ranch and learned to stand up for what I believe and to speak my mind respectfully even when others may disagree," he said.