Catherine Cortez Masto held a Senate seat for the Democrats in Nevada, denying Republicans a rare pickup opportunity, and gave Hillary Clinton its electoral votes.
Cortez Masto, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s hand-picked successor, defeated Rep. Joe Heck, a top Republican recruit who simply was not able to overcome the lead the Democrats amassed in early voting.
The same held true for Donald Trump, who was leading in some public polls of Nevada but found Clinton’s early voting lead too much to overcome.
The Republicans are defending a host of Senate seats on inhospitable terrain while Clinton faces a surprisingly tough race for 270 in the Electoral College.
The Democrats need to flip five Senate seats, four if Clinton is elected president, to retake control of the chamber. Clinton’s vice president would be the tiebreaker in a 50-50 Senate.
Cortez Masto’s victory over Heck blocked the only realistic opportunity the Republicans had to turn a Senate seat from blue to red. Cortez Masto is a former Nevada attorney general.
