Nevada Dem blasts opponent after controversial posts by former aide
Nevada Democratic Senate candidate Catherine Cortez Masto slammed the silence of opponent Joe Heck after a former aide accused her of “Hispandering” — pandering to Hispanics.
Cortez Masto, who would be the the chamber’s first female Hispanic senator if elected, questioned why Heck, a Republican, wouldn’t disavow the former aide’s social media comments from earlier this week.
{mosads}“Congressman Heck and his allies would rather attack my character, would rather attack my heritage,” Cortez Masto said during a press conference Friday, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
“That’s not what this race is about, but you have seen that happening from Donald Trump all the way down to Congressman Heck, who refuses to denounce it. He should publicly come out and denounce what those aides are saying.”
She tied Heck’s refusal to speak out against the post to his support of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has made various controversial comments about Hispanics during his bid.
“We have not seen him stand up to denounce any type of divisive rhetoric whether it’s coming from his former aide or whether it’s coming from Donald Trump and that’s just as complicit in perpetuating this rhetoric that is tearing our country apart,” she added.
Former Heck aide Tom McCallister tweeted this week that Cortez Masto is “about as Mexican as I am” and implied she was using her heritage for political gain.
“Hispandering at its finest,” McCallister said in a Facebook post, according to the Sun.
“That’s why so many Hispanic leaders in Nevada support Joe Heck.”
Heck campaign spokesman Brian Baluta told the Sun that McCallister was not affiliated with the campaign and that while Heck’s campaign has “many questions for Ms. Cortez Masto … none of them relate to her heritage.”
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