Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) has won another term in office, defeating Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in a nail-biter contest that allows Democrats to retain control in the Senate.
The AP called the race for Cortez Masto late Saturday.
Cortez Masto was considered the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in the Senate while up against Laxalt, whose father and grandfather were U.S. Senators and effectively blessed him with high name-recognition out the gate. Cortez Masto branded herself as a moderate with a focus on economic issues and boosters to the hospitality industry, given Nevada was hit especially hard by the Covid pandemic.
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She sought to put that record to use on the trail while also highlighting her support for codifying abortion rights at the federal level, among other issues. Laxalt, in contrast, ran on a MAGA-faithful platform, touting his endorsement from former President Trump and focusing on issues like crime, the economy and immigration.
Though Nevada has trended blue in recent elections, Demographic shifts left Cortez Mastro vulnerable, particularly among Latino voters who were being heavily courted by Republicans. Democratic strategists pushed back against those forecasts, arguing that trend lines of Latino voters in south Texas skewing Republican weren't guaranteed to play out in Nevada, too.
