Cortez Masto maintains 7-point lead in Nevada Senate race: poll

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D) leads her challenger by 7 factors within the intently watched Nevada Senate race, in accordance with a brand new Suffolk College-Reno Gazette-Journal ballot.

Forty-five p.c of respondents indicated assist for Cortez Masto, in comparison with 38 p.c assist for former state Legal professional Common Adam Laxalt (R). Twelve p.c stated they have been undecided, whereas 3 p.c stated they’d assist not one of the polled candidates.

The nonpartisan Cook dinner Political Report charges the Nevada contest as one in every of 4 toss-up races that would decide which social gathering will management the Senate starting subsequent yr.

Democrats are going through historic and political headwinds going into this yr’s midterm elections. However many within the social gathering are hoping a sequence of current victories can counter voter frustration about points akin to inflation and keep away from a shellacking in November that results in unified GOP management of Congress.

Inflation and the economic system polled as the highest problem for voters, in accordance with the ballot, at 34 p.c, adopted by 13 p.c who stated abortion was their high concern.

Senate Minority Chief Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been managing midterm expectations, saying final week that Republicans had a greater likelihood of flipping the Home than the Senate. That view aligns with analysts akin to FiveThirtyEight, which as of Sunday gave Republicans a 78 p.c likelihood of successful Home management and a 37 p.c likelihood of flipping the higher chamber.

“Senate races are simply completely different — they’re statewide, candidate high quality has quite a bit to do with the result,” McConnell stated. 

The comment was an obvious snide to candidates akin to Laxalt, who was backed by former President Trump within the main. Many Republican nominees in battleground Senate races — akin to Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia — obtained Trump’s backing of their primaries.

The ballot additionally discovered that incumbent Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) edged out his Trump-backed opponent, Joe Lombardo, by 3 proportion factors. Forty-three p.c of respondents indicated assist for Sisolak’s reelection, in comparison with 40 p.c for Lombardo.

The Cook dinner Political Report equally charges the gubernatorial race as a toss-up.

The previous president, who himself is weighing a 3rd bid for the White Home, has endorsed candidates throughout the nation, largely specializing in those that assist his unfounded claims of voter fraud within the 2020 election. Election fraud clocked in because the third most essential problem within the ballot, with 11 p.c of respondents saying it was their high concern this yr.

“Laxalt and Lombardo are up huge in Nevada!” Trump posted on Reality Social on Sunday, with out pointing to information supporting his declare.

The Suffolk College-Reno Gazette-Journal ballot was performed between Aug. 14 and Aug. 17 with 500 seemingly Nevada voters.