Inside the Scramble In Nevada to Preserve the Senate Democratic Majority

There was the cafecito with Latina small business owners in Las Vegas. The Battle Born Brews event at Latino-owned Mari Chuy's, Reno's first Tequileria. "La Gran Celebración Latina" at the East Las Vegas Community Center to close Hispanic Heritage Month. Ad ChoicesPan-Made Potluck Desserts SPONSORED CONTENT Pan-Made Potluck Desserts BY THE NEW YORK TIMES And Senator Catherine Cortez Masto's campaign blasted that she cast her ballot "in the heart" of the East Las Vegas Latino community before celebrating with dozens of supporters at Mar y Tierra, a Latino-owned restaurant. NEWSWEEK NEWSLETTER SIGN-UP > In the run-up to election day, one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the Senate has ramped up her Latino outreach and engagement, after private grumbling spilled out into the open in a Newsweek article on October 12 that asked the question many Democrats were worrying over: Why wasn't the first Latina U.S. Senator doing better with Latino voters? ADVERTISING "There seems to be an uptick of activity," said Melissa Morales, the president of Somos Votantes, which is spending more than half of its $24 million dollar budget in Nevada reaching Hispanics. Ad ChoicesMigraine prevention that?s delivered differently SPONSORED CONTENT Migraine prevention that?s delivered differently BY VYEPTI "Was it pre-planned GOTV or a response to 'We have a problem, we have to fix it'? I don't know," Morales told Newsweek. "But either you had this plan and invested or were made aware of a problem and responded. Both are good." This is playing out as the Cortez Masto-Laxalt race is now seen as pivotal in Democrats' efforts to keep at least the 50-50 split they have in the Senate, which is made a slim majority by virtue of the vote of the vice president, Kamala Harris. Latino voters have emerged as critical to those efforts to keep Democrats in charge in Washington and Nevada blue. NEWSWEEK SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS > As it has done previously when the scale of Latino outreach was questioned, the Cortez Masto campaign notes that it began Hispanic efforts in February and has been up on Spanish-language airwaves since March. But Nevada Democrats and campaign veterans have noted that her campaign has been more active in touting Latino events on social media since the campaign's Latino engagement was questioned. A review of press releases from the campaign supports that view. In the three weeks prior to October 12, her campaign sent just two emails aimed at Latinos in the midst of Hispanic Heritage Month, both on the court ruling on DACA, the Obama-era program that allowed young undocumented people to work and remain in the country. But in the three weeks since, the campaign has sent out nine emails to get the word out on its Latino-focused events, plus additional emails touting meetings with Culinary Union workers. Additional support has come from the Nevada Democratic Victory coordinated campaign, which uplifts Cortez Masto and other Democrats on the ticket. The campaign also had a role in recruiting Erika Herrera, who works for Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen, to fill a vacancy on the coordinated campaign staff. Herrera is helping with additional surrogate events beyond the Latino-focused events the campaign was already doing. These include outside trips from top surrogates to help Democrats up and down the ticket, from Cortez Masto to Governor Steve Sisolak. "The role is really important," a Democrat who has worked on winning campaigns in the state told Newsweek. "The fact that they had to shore it up a week before early voting began — that was concerning." On Tuesday one of those big surrogates descended on Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas, as Barack Obama joined Cortez Masto, Sisolak, and John Legend to juice Democratic excitement a week before Election Day, with just three days left in early voting. Of Cortez Masto, Obama said the third-generation Nevadan and daughter of a former hotel and casino worker, who started out by parking cars at The Dunes, went after big oil for high gas prices, fought to lower prescription drug costs, and "fought harder than just about anybody in Congress to make housing more affordable." obama cortez masto sisolak Former President Barack Obama shakes hands with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (L) and Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (Center) at a campaign rally at Cheyenne High School in North Las Vegas, Nevada, on November 01, 2022. ANNA MONEYMAKER/GETTY IMAGES But while many see increased Latino outreach from Cortez Masto, supporters point out that she wasn't able to do events in-state when she had to be in Washington for votes, while October coincided with a recess, which means she has been more available to attend events in the community. Two Cortez Masto campaign staffers have been active for much of 2022 on Latino outreach. Maritza Rodriguez, the director of Latino engagement, put on campaign events while maintaining a visible presence at community gatherings like baby showers and quinceañeras. Press Secretary Tony Hernandez makes weekly appearances on Spanish-language radio, touting and defending his boss. The scrutiny on the scope of the campaign's Latino efforts came after an early-October CNN poll showed Cortez Masto with 52% Latino support. But a Univision poll released last week helped settle some nerves within the party, with Cortez Masto at 60% and Laxalt at 27%, numbers that align with what Nevada Democrats are seeing internally. "We're feeling solid on the Latino front," a source close to the campaign said, "as good as you can in this environment." The source noted that Cortez Masto's internal polling reflects what was seen in the Univision poll as well. "If she's in that range, it becomes a matter of turnout," a longtime Nevada Democrat said. "You need to have a range of 62% to 64% support, and then you need to have turnout." Laura Martin, the executive director of the Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN), a grassroots organizer and veteran of many Nevada campaign cycles, said she can't address the increased Latino outreach by Cortez Masto because she doesn't speak Spanish and doesn't register those ads and that engagement. But she said that in Laxalt, Nevada would be getting a "one-time loser and architect of the Big Lie," after he backed lawsuits in support of baseless election fraud claims. She recalled how upset she was during the 2000 election, her first in which she was old enough to vote, when people said George W. Bush was the candidate with whom they would want to have a beer. "We are not electing a best friend," she told Newsweek. "We're electing the person most likely to be with our community, to listen to our community and understand the needs of Black people, indigenous folks, formerly incarcerated, and rural people." Jesus Marquez, a Laxalt campaign advisor, said he feels confident because Latinos are not happy with the direction of the country and the state. He pointed to two recent major Hispanic events the campaign held in the last two weeks — one in East Las Vegas at the RNC community center he said was "fiesta-style," with a mariachi band and traditional food, that he said set a record for Republicans of 200 people in attendance, and the other a forum on education and school choice in a church school, where nearly 200 Latinos showed up as well. Marquez said he expects Laxalt to win because his campaign focused on the economy and inflation, which Hispanics care about the most, while Cortez Masto "made a mistake focusing too much on abortion." The Cortez Masto campaign, which has made abortion rights a centerpiece of its campaign, says its events are drawing more people than Laxalt's. A Gran Fiesta Latina in July drew 400 people, and the event to close out Hispanic Heritage Month saw more than 300, the campaign told Newsweek. READ MORE Why Isn't The First Latina U.S. Senator Doing Better With Latino Voters? Powerful Nevada Culinary Union is Back But GOP Sees 'Best Chance' in Decade The Florida Race That Could Show Democrats The Way Forward With Latinos Democrats Boost Mark Kelly With New Ad Campaign Aimed at Latino Voters With early voting underway, experts on the ground were initially concerned with what they were seeing with Latino voters. Morales, who said she has never previously been a part of a race that was a genuine tossup, said that she flagged a couple weeks ago that "we needed to be concerned about turnout, we were not hearing the awareness around elections that we have in the past," with early voting only "exacerbating those concerns." But Leo Murrieta, the director of Make The Road Nevada Action, told Newsweek he knows his community, and everything is going according to plan. "I am 100% a Nevadan. This is my life, this is my community. These are the doors I've knocked on for the last 15 years," he said. "I know they're not going to vote super early, I expect my gente to vote this week." The source close to Cortez Masto's campaign agreed. "Early vote numbers are coming back in line," the source said. "They're looking better than they were in the early reports." Seasoned Nevada political operatives know that beyond stellar breakfast burritos, the large supermarket chain Cardenas Markets was always the place for Latino voter registration and GOTV. But updated rules from new ownership who "don't like politics" have been a blow to Democrats, Murrieta said, who made use of the front of the market and parking lot, cycle after cycle, to engage voters. Still, he said, in addition to a seven-figure door campaign, his group launched a six-figure ad buy, spending tens of thousands on Spanish-language radio in Las Vegas, $10,000 to $20,000 in Reno, and $30,000 on Entravision. "We're over $130,000 to $140,000 just to speak to our gente on the airwaves and with digital ads in mercados and tortillerias," he said. The influential Culinary Union, which has always been a central part of Democratic wins in the state, is also doing its part, having knocked on roughly 300,000 doors from the end of September to the end of October alone. Nevada grassroots activists and operatives who have worked in the state feel the gears of the machine that has always powered Democrats are pumping again, which could be what puts Cortez Masto over the top in a closely contested race, and help preserve the Senate majority for the party. "This week we'll see an uptick in Latinx voting," Murrieta said. "We may be late to the party — but we're worth waiting for." For more information, visit us at http://www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com/index.html.