Two days before election day, Senator Catherine Cortez Mastoa Nevada Democrat, said she is “very confident” Democrats will win in her battleground state.
“I’m optimistic that we’re going to win, not just for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, but for… Jackie Rosen in this state,” she said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
About half of Nevada’s active registered voters have cast ballots, with Republicans leading statewide, increasing anxiety among Democrats heading into Election Day. Nevada is also the only state where Republicans flipped the governor’s mansion in 2022, although Cortez Masto held on to her seat by fewer than 8,000 votes in that same election. But Cortez Masto said she is “optimistic” about Harris’ chances in the Silver State, citing what she has seen as an impressive ground game and recruiting effort from Democrats.
“That’s literally what this is about: making sure that our voters, who are paying attention right now in a swing state like Nevada, that someone is talking to them,” Cortez Masto said. “Now is the time for us to connect with our constituents and talk to them about the issues they care about.”
CBS News
With an economy based largely on tourism and hospitality in Las Vegas, Nevada is home to a significant working-class population. The Trump campaign has tried to make inroads with the voting bloc with economic policies that could be especially important in Nevada, where the economy was among the hardest hit by the 2020 pandemic shutdown, leading to frustration over the Democrat-led policies.
Cortez Masto said Democrats are working with working-class communities “on the issues that matter to them” while demanding the support of organized labor. And she argued that Harris is the candidate with solutions for affordable housing and lowering health care costs, among other things.
“That is ultimately relevant and how we are going to make this happen,” she said.
Still, the Nevada Democrat insisted that Nevada’s elections are “always close.” And she noted that she won reelection in 2022 with a Republican advantage — in what was the nation’s closest Senate race during the midterm elections.
Cortez Masto pointed to the state’s large population of nonpartisan voters, who she said are leanly Democratic, saying, “They leaned my way, and so I feel very confident that as we work on our work on the basic game, start organizing our way.” to victory here.”
A Republican presidential candidate has not won Nevada since 2004, but the Democrats’ margin of victory has narrowed in recent years.
Cortez Masto also defended President Biden after he appeared to call out supporters of former President Donald Trump”waste“, saying he had clarified the comments as being about a rhetoric of the comedian at a Trump rally. And she argued that Harriswhom she worked with when they were both attorneys general, has “made it very clear going forward that she wants to represent everyone.”
“It doesn’t matter if you voted for her or not, and whoever you vote for, you shouldn’t be criticized for that,” Cortez Masto added.
Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday, downplayed Trump’s connection to the comedian’s comments while arguing that “what’s more relevant” is Mr. Biden’s comment, which he said him is consistent with ‘what most people in the Democratic Party and its hierarchy believe.”
“If you’re so confident of winning, as the Harris people say, why be there and not attack Donald Trump — and attack anyone who’s thinking about voting for him,” Rubio said. “That doesn’t look like the actions of a confident campaign. It looks to me like the actions of a fearful campaign.”
