Nevada’s ‘Reid Machine’ Passes Tough Mid-Run Test

Nevada Democrats hold the two U.S. Senate seats, the governor’s mansion and three of his four U.S. House seats. The state has not endorsed a Republican presidential candidate since 2004.

But as this year’s midterm elections approach, the party’s hold on power is under threat. Catherine Cortez Masto is considered the most vulnerable Democrat in the Senate. Gov. Steve Sisolak faces a fiery re-election challenge from Republican Joe Lombardo. And the GOP could land two House seats in Nevada, putting the party on track to regain a majority in Washington.

The dynamic poses a stern test for the sophisticated organization the late Sen. Harry Reid spent years building to give Democrats an edge in the swing state.

The party everywhere faces headwinds, driven by President Joe Biden’s unpopularity and persistent inflation. And the challenges in Nevada are particularly notable because the election is the first since Reid’s death last year, raising questions about the sustainability of the so-called Reid Machine.

Some leading Democrats say the competitive environment is simply a reminder that Nevada is a true swing state that the National Party cannot take for granted.

“I think what we see in Nevada is what we always see. We are a purple state,” said Democratic state attorney general Aaron Ford. “We have to work hard.”

Reid, who served as Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2015, helped pool resources to maximize support for candidates throughout the ballot. His approach tapped into networks that extended far beyond the traditional party structure. He leaned particularly heavily on the immigrant-heavy Culinary Union, which represents about 60,000 casino works and leads efforts to register voters, make phone calls and knock on doors.

That’s especially important in a state where shift work in Las Vegas casinos, hotels and restaurants and language barriers can make some voters harder to reach.

” That was all. It was an investment in people, agents and candidates to make sure we fired on all cylinders through the ballot,” said Rebecca Lambe, a longtime Reid aide and Democratic strategist.

“Through the Ballot” has been a key organizing principle.

“We had every organizer we could hit for every Democrat,” said Molly Forgey, Reid’s former aide and state party staffer. Forgey is now a spokesperson for Sisolak’s campaign.

While Reid ceded the stage in 2016, his machine’s organizing and voter turnout efforts still helped Cortez Masto become the nation’s first Latino senator. Two years later, Nevada Democrats flipped the state’s other Senate seat long held by Republicans, elected the first Democratic governor in two decades and expanded their majorities in the Legislature.

Reid also muscled Nevada’s presidential caucuses to be among the nation’s premier contests, sending White House hopefuls, political spending and attention to what had been a neglected state – which amplified resources and the network experienced campaign workers who could help in other Nevadas. elections.

But this November, Reid Machine veterans admit they face a tough challenge.

“There’s no doubt that every Democrat in Nevada is missing Senator Reid this year,” Lambe said. But at the same time, the political and organizational infrastructure he supported and invested in “has always been designed to support Democrats for the long haul,” he said. said.

“It was never just about Senator Reid and his campaign.”

However, the coordinated operation began to fracture last year after progressives backed by the Democratic Socialists of America took over leadership of the state party. Top Democrats, including moderates Cortez Masto and Sisolak, have set up an alternative operation in the county that includes Reno, though Nevada Democrats say the divide hasn’t played a role in the close races this year.

Democrats and their aligned groups working on the ground have long warned that the state has the potential to swing to Republicans and have at times felt victimized by their own success. In 2018 and 2020, they warned National Democrats and donors in the final weeks before the election that they should not take the state for granted.

“It’s in the air,” Ted Pappageorge, head of the Casino Workers Culinary Union, said of this year’s election. “It’s a complete tossup.”

Cortez Masto’s opponent is Republican Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general and grandson of Paul Laxalt, a longtime former senator from Nevada and close friend of President Ronald Reagan.

The Reid Machine’s track record is far from perfect. In some years he suffered losses or had to give up gains.

In 2014, as Reid focused on trying to win competitive senatorial contests elsewhere and keep Democratic control in the Senate, efforts in his backyard waned. Republicans capitalized on the backlash against then-President Barack Obama, winning every statewide race that year and a seat in the Las Vegas area at the heart of favorable territory. to Democrats.

Reid himself faced a close re-election battle in 2010 against Tea Party star but goof-prone candidate Sharron Angle. This contest, even more so than this year’s, took place amid widespread economic concerns as Nevada bore the brunt of a recession, but Reid and his machine managed to win.

This year, national Democrats are well aware of the stakes, fearing Nevada is their greatest risk of losing a key Senate race. The contest is one of the most expensive in the country, with contestants and outside groups spending around $100 million so far, despite the state’s relatively small population of around 3 million.

This population is heavily working-class and transient, making it a constant challenge to connect with movers, register them to vote, and introduce them to candidates. About a third of the electorate is not registered with any political party.

It can be especially difficult to get voters who may not have deep roots in the state to pay attention to the midterm elections, said Susie Martinez, state deputy and chairman of the AFL-CIO of Nevada.

“It’s not a presidential one,” she said. “People tend to be a little more indifferent to voting. It’s not in their mind at the moment.

Pappageorge, who leads the Culinary Union as secretary-treasurer, said the union has 300 people and growing who work full-time knocking on doors __ “workers talking to workers” on behalf of Cortez Masto, Sisolak and d other Democratic candidates in English, Spanish and other languages.

“It’s going to be a tough election, tougher than 2020, because it’s a midterm. But we have a plan to win,” Pappageorge said, even with Reid gone. what he did for our state and for us who live here, but we fought this fight.

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This story was originally published October 18, 2022 2:29 p.m.