Trump-endorsed Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt secured the Republican nomination in a landslide victory on Tuesday, according to projections from the New York Times.
Former Nevada Attorney General Laxalt beat his competitor Sam Brown 56 percent to 33 percent when the Times called the race with just 40 percent of votes counted by 10:00 p.m. PDT. Laxalt pulled off a victory after leading in the polls by double digits in the months leading up to the primary election. No other candidate received over four percent.
BREAKING: Adam Laxalt wins Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Nevada primary election. #APRaceCall at 10:02 p.m. PDT. https://t.co/2nlgpji7ac
— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) June 15, 2022
Laxalt heavily benefited from the endorsements of conservative heavyweights, including former President Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). He also has a well-established record from prior leadership positions and name recognition, which propelled him in the polls and ultimately led to his victory over lesser-known candidate Sam Brown.
Laxalt will go on to face incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) in the November general election. The Times called the race for Cortez Masto around the same time, the sitting senator receiving 91 percent of votes with 48 percent of total votes reported. Laxalt previously told Breitbart News that Nevada’s position as the 51st Senate seat puts high heat on the race, as the GOP works to win back the House and Senate from Democrats.
Nevada Democrats are particularly vulnerable this election, with both Cortez Masto and Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) up for reelection. Democrats nationally have been trying to distance themselves from President Joe Biden, as his tanking agenda makes him and those around him increasingly unpopular. Cortez Masto herself has been hesitant to call herself a “Biden Democrat,” though she said the president is “always welcome in my state.”
Particularly within Nevada, Democrats’ prioritization of radical leftist policies is projected to be unpopular with Hispanic voters, a demographic key to securing a victory in the state.
“You need someone that’s going be strong and is actually going to be willing to stand up,” Laxalt told Breitbart News in May. “Cortez Masto has been a rubber stamp for these open border policies that have allowed massive illegal immigration, have allowed huge spikes in human trafficking, fentanyl, and other drug trafficking in our state. So when it comes to those issues, the contrast is massive. And law enforcement actually switched from endorsing her in 2016.”
Early polling on Cortez Masto and Laxalt have rendered wildly different results so far. A Nevada Election Survey Project (NESP) survey released in early June showed Cortez Masto leading Laxalt 48 percent to 27 percent in a hypothetical matchup. In stark contrast, a poll released in early May showed Laxalt leading Cortez Masto 47 percent to 46 percent, a one percent lead well within the survey’s four percent margin of error.
Disclosure: Breitbart News is represented by Cooper & Kirk, PLLC. Adam Laxalt is a partner at Cooper & Kirk. He is not actively engaged or working on any matters for Breitbart News.
Source: Breitbart
