Democratic U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto is widely considered the most vulnerable candidate up for re-election this year, and with GOP opponent Adam Laxalt leading pretty steadily in all the recent polls, that most definitely seems to be the case.
After the Dobbs decision overturned Roe v. Wade, Cortez Masto’s campaign made a hard pivot to abortion rights as one of the top issues she would message on. The hope was that outrage over the Dobbs decision would motivate voters more than the economy would.
It is not.
The Associated Press has a story on this subject, and it’s an outright admission that focusing on abortion isn’t working on voters.
Democrats insist that Nevada remains a purple state, despite being led by a Democratic governor, two Democratic senators and a Democratic-controlled state legislature. Former President Donald Trump lost the state by less than 34,000 votes in 2020. And on Nov. 8, polls suggest, the GOP could take over several statewide offices.
Veteran Democratic strategist James Carville fears his party’s hyper-focus on abortion isn’t working.
“A lot of these consultants think if all we do is run abortion spots that will win for us. I don’t think so,” said Carville, a vocal Cortez Masto ally who has sent dozens of fundraising emails on her behalf. “It’s a good issue. But if you just sit there and they’re pummeling you on crime and pummeling you on the cost of living, you’ve got to be more aggressive than just yelling abortion every other word.”
Carville is absolutely correct, and while he isn’t saying it outright, the message is clear: The abortion rhetoric is a distraction, not a solution.
The kitchen table issues – inflation, gas prices, the job market, supply chain issues, etc. – are worrying the American voter, and Nevada is no different. Immigration, too, is an issue in Nevada due to its relative proximity to the border, which is in absolute chaos right now. Laxalt has been all over these issues while Cortez Masto has deflected.
The voters have noticed.
That is a big reason why Republicans are making solid gains across the country and at rates higher than anyone (including some Republicans) and it’s possible the polls are still underestimating it.
The current economic predicament, which has affected all parts of our lives, has voters absolutely enraged. With the midterms just a handful of weeks away, the threat of a red wave lingers as menacingly as ever. The Democrats have no answer for it.