April 14, 2022: Why Hispanic voters could cost Democrats Nevada

In the coming weeks and months, we’ll be out covering the key districts and states that will decide the outcome of the midterm elections. 

Nevada has one of 2022’s most under-covered Senate races. The incumbent, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, keeps a low profile in Washington and back home, but she’s raised a record amount of money and is spending big on TV ads. Nevada has a famously transient population, so she’s started with a biographical spot to introduce herself to the hundreds of thousands of potential new voters who weren’t around when she was first elected in 2016. Her other messaging is straight from the Dems’ generic 2020 strategy for vulnerable senators: reminding voters of all that Covid relief money that kept businesses afloat.

The political environment for Cortez Masto is brutal. Consider the latest poll, released this week from Suffolk University and the Reno Gazette Journal:

• Biden’s approval rating in the state was 35%.
• Cortez Masto would lose to either GOP nominee: 43-40 against the well-known Adam Laxalt, and 40-39 against the relatively unknown Sam Brown.
• 72% of Nevada voters said the economy was just fair or poor.
• Inflation is the top issue for voters — 40% of whom said they are worse off compared to four years ago.

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Raghu Manavalan is the Host of POLITICO's Playbook.
Jenny Ament is the Executive Producer of POLITICO Audio.