A progressive Hispanic PAC is backing Catherine Cortez Masto (D) in Nevada’s Senate race with a video ad released Friday.
The Latino Victory Fund announced it would spend $75,000 on the ad campaign targeting likely Latino voters primarily in Clark County, home to almost two-thirds of the state’s population.
{mosads}Cortez Masto, the former state attorney general, is running against Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) to replace retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). The seat is seen as the GOP’s only realistic pickup opportunity this fall.
“In Congress, she will stand up to Republicans who seek to hurt the middle class and put our families in danger of deportation,” said César J. Blanco, Latino Victory Fund interim director.
The ad focuses Cortez Masto’s proposals for immigration reform and curbing the cost of education, two issues consistently shown to be important to Latinos.
Cortez Masto supports comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship for people in the country illegally.
Heck’s website says he “welcome[s] the debate on immigration reform and the opportunity to find real solutions for our broken immigration system,” but stops short of calling for comprehensive reform.
Heck last week rescinded his endorsement of GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump following the release of a 2005 recording in which Trump talks about groping women without their permission.
Cortez Masto dismissed the move, saying “Joe Heck’s made clear that he’s with Donald Trump.”
Nevada Latinos played an important role in Reid’s 2010 hard-fought reelection, with 90 percent of them backing him. There are 328,000 eligible Hispanic voters in the state, up from 224,000 in 2010, according to Pew Research Center.
The race has attracted attention from national Democrats fighting to regain control of the Senate. Democrats need to gain five seats — or four if Clinton is in the White House — to win control of the chamber, but losing Reid’s seat would set them back.
Hispanic groups have also targeted the race, as Cortez Masto could become the first-ever Latina elected to the Senate. Heck currently leads Cortez Masto by 3.4 percentage points, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
The California Democrat-on-Democrat Senate race also features a Latina, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.), but she is trailing California Attorney General Kamala Harris by 13 points.