Millions of dollars have been spent on key Senate and House campaigns, with blue and red Jewish groups working hard to get out the Jewish vote in the Silver State
WASHINGTON – Jewish Republicans and Democrats have both identified Nevada as particularly crucial in deciding which party controls Congress next session, and its nearly 80,000 Jewish voters could determine the outcome in a state where President Joe Biden barely won in 2020.
Adam Laxalt, the Trump-endorsed former attorney general who was a favorite of late Nevada native and Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson, is running neck-and-neck with incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in what may be the GOP’s best opportunity to flip a blue seat in the Senate.
The Republican Jewish Coalition, which was deeply involved in Adelson’s fundraising efforts, has backed the Iraq War veteran and former naval officer, citing Laxalt’s “distinguished record of service in military and public life.” It also notes his background as a fourth-generation Nevadan born in Reno.
RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks says Cortez Masto, who also served as the state’s attorney general, is “weak on crime, refuses to enforce the law at the border, and has failed miserably on lowering inflation and the skyrocketing costs of living – from the gas station to the grocery store – for Nevada families.”
Brooks also cites her support of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and backing from J Street. Cortez Masto, who was close to late Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, has also been endorsed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which lauded her as an emerging leader on the U.S.-Israel relationship during her first term in 2017.
The first Latina ever elected to Senate, Cortez Masto has urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to end a United Nations inquiry into Israel earlier this year, while pushing the administration to “steer the International Criminal Court away from politically motivated investigations against Israel,” AIPAC’s endorsement notes.
She also co-sponsored legislation pushing further normalization between Israel and Arab states building on the Abraham Accords, earning the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s endorsement for leading the way on issues pertaining to Nevada such as tourism, tribal affairs and natural resources.
The RJC, meanwhile, is investing significant resources at all levels in order to bolster Laxalt. Key local pro-Israel Republicans joined Brooks and former U.S. ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley at a pro-Laxalt community event last month.
Haley notably appeared at an RJC event in Nevada last year where she slammed AIPAC for overemphasizing bipartisanship in outreach to Democrats such as Cortez Masto who backed the Iran deal.
‘Incredibly bullish’
“With three weeks to go, we are executing a significantly ramped-up Jewish direct voter contact campaign in Nevada with our RJC Victory Team – coordinating tens of thousands of phone calls, door knocks and text messages – using the most highly targeted and sophisticated data operation in Jewish politics, which was incredibly effective in 2020, and has only gotten more advanced since,” says RJC National Political Director Sam Markstein of the organization’s efforts.
“We are incredibly bullish on Adam Laxalt flipping this seat,” he adds.
Despite the RJC’s confidence, their Jewish Democratic counterparts believe their own outreach efforts, while linking Laxalt to the most far-right elements of the Republican Party, will help reelect Cortez Masto.
Similar to the RJC, the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s Nevada chapter is running weekly phone bank and text banks. It is also running a 30-second ad aimed at Jewish voters and independents on digital platforms, telling voters that a country with an abortion ban, gun violence, white supremacy and antisemitism “is where Adam Laxalt will take America.”
Another JDCA ad notes that electing Democrats is how voters can stop Republicans promoting white nationalism and political violence unleashed by former President Donald Trump.
Laxalt backed Trump’s challenges against the 2020 election results in the days following the race and sued in hopes of keeping noncitizens off the state’s voter rolls. He has also decried Democrat-drafted laws permitting universal mail voting and same-day registration.
He attracted further scrutiny this summer after naming January 6 protester Courtney Holland as his communications director. She marched to the Capitol following Trump’s speech alongside members of the extremist Oath Keepers group, though is not believed to have entered the building during the rioting.
Laxalt has also been criticized by the Anti-Defamation League for associating with supporters of the far-right, anti-government Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. Its endorsement of Laxalt was the first time its members had publicly endorsed a Senate candidate.
Further controversy surrounds a key Republican donor named Robert Beadles, who has given more than $1 million in the past two years to GOP candidates across the ballot in Nevada. A Nevada Independent report revealed that Beadles invoked the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” when blaming outside forces for orchestrating the Capitol insurrection. He has also backed election-denying candidates and invested in extremist antisemitic platforms such as Gab and Pilled.net.
Beadles has also headlined a local fundraiser alongside Republican secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant, a known QAnon conspiracy theory adherent who celebrated his primary win by associating with a QAnon event organizer.
Elsewhere, three AIPAC-endorsed Democratic representatives are running in competitive races that will help determine who controls the House.
Rep. Steven Horsford is running against ardent Trump supporter Sam Peters (who has not been endorsed by the RJC). Reps. Dina Titus and Susie Lee, meanwhile, are running against RJC-endorsed opponents Mark Robertson and April Becker, respectively.
Robertson, who recognizes that President Joe Biden was rightfully elected in 2020, defeated former Christians United for Israel head David Brog in this year’s Republican primary. Becker, however, has questioned the 2020 results, saying Democrats “100 percent cheated.”
Miriam Adelson has donated $10 million to the Congressional Leadership Fund to bolster Republican House candidates. It has spent more than $6 million backing Becker and more than $4 million for Robertson ahead of the November 8 midterms.
Automatic approval of subscriber comments.
From $1 for the first month
