While some GOP Senate candidates have struggled to gain traction, NBC News’ Sahil Kapur and Natasha Korecki report that Republicans are optimistic that they can win Nevada.
“Nevada’s races are always competitive,” Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, the first Latina elected to the Senate, told NBC News. “I’m not going to take anything for granted — and you can’t.”
Cortez Masto is facing former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt in November, whom Republicans lauded as a top recruit when he jumped into the race more than a year ago.
Democrats have found statewide success in Nevada’s recent elections, but those victories were hard fought. Biden won the state by just 2 points in 2020, while Cortez Masto won her first term and Hillary Clinton won the state by the same margin in 2016.
So what’s the sure bet in Nevada’s Senate race? It’s going to be close.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Arizona Senate: A super PAC tied to Heritage Action for America is planning to spend at least $5 million to boost Republican Blake Masters, Politico reports. And on Friday, three GOP governors — current Gov. Doug Ducey and former Govs. Jan Brewer and Fife Symington — endorsed Masters. They’re expected to hold events for Masters this week, per the Arizona Republic.
North Carolina Senate: EMILY’s List’s independent expenditure arm Women Vote! announced it is investing $2.7 million to boost Democrat Cheri Beasley. A recent spot targets GOP Rep. Ted Budd on abortion.
Pennsylvania Senate: Lt. Gov. John Fetterman held an abortion rights rally over the weekend, declaring, “Women are the reason we win. Don’t p— women off,” per the Philadelphia Inquirer. Some Democrats in the state, meanwhile, told Reuters that they’re concerned about Fetterman’s health following his stroke in May.
Arizona Governor: Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Katie Hobbs’ campaign manager says she won’t debate Republican nominee Kari Lake because “debating a conspiracy theorist like Kari Lake…would only lead to constant interruptions, pointless distractions, and childish name-calling.”
Kansas Governor: Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the party’s gubernatorial nominee, said during a weekend debate that a recent vote against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have opened the doors for new abortion restrictions in the state “has to be respected” but that “does not mean that the discussion has ended.”
Maine Governor: Former Republican Gov. Paul LePage is up with a new ad contrasting his background overcoming homelessness with Democratic Gov. Janet Mills, whom he chided as from “an elite family” and who “backpacked Europe and lived in San Francisco.”
Rhode Island Governor: A former CEO of CVS is criticizing Democratic Gov. Dan McKee for claiming the company (and former CVS executive turned Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Helena Foulkes) contributed to the opioid crisis in a recent ad.
Kansas Attorney General: Republican nominee Kris Kobach resigned from the board of the nonprofit at the center of the charges faced by GOP operative Steve Bannon.
