Cortez Masto keeps Reid’s Senate seat in Dem hands

Former Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto is projected to win in Nevada, keeping outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s seat in the Democratic column.

Nevada was Republicans best chance to flip a Democrat-held seat, and undermine Democratic efforts to take back control of the upper chamber. They also openly relished being able to claim one last victory against Reid—a top GOP antagonist.

{mosads}But Cortez Masto pulled in the ahead in the final days of the race, and Tuesday night’s victory over Rep. Joe Heck (R-Nev.) will make her the first Latina senator.

Heck, a three-term congressman, led in the polls for months but stumbled over supporting Trump after a 2005 tape surfaced of the GOP nominee discussing groping and kissing women without their consent.

He initially dropped his support for Trump, but faced a wave of backlash from conservative voters over the decision. As the race tightened, Heck waffled, telling supporters privately he wanted to be able to support the top of the ticket and refusing to tell a reporter how he would vote.

“Well, I can tell you I’m not voting for Hillary Clinton,” he told a local TV station earlier this month. “We still have six days before I walk into the booth. On Nov. 8, I’ll have a decision.”

Democrats felt confident about early voting numbers, leading Republicans by more than 5 percentage points, according to data released Tuesday by the Secretary of State’s office.

Republicans, however, argued the lead wasn’t a death knoll for Heck’s chances to flip the Senate seat, noting both President Obama and Sen. Dean Heller (R) won the state in 2012.

But veteran Nevada political journalist Jon Ralston, who declared Trump “dead” in the state, added on Tuesday morning there was still “hope” for Heck but he faced an uphill battle.

“If he can win his own congressional district, he has a chance,” he wrote. “The numbers there don’t look good.”