CARSON CITY, Nev. (Legal Newsline) - Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto last week launched her campaign for U.S. Sen. Harry Reid’s seat in 2016.
Masto made the announcement April 8 in an email to supporters.
“As attorney general, I stood up to special interests and fought for consumers in Nevada. I worked with local law enforcement to crack down on meth labs to help combat our state’s growing drug problem, protected domestic abuse victims and children preyed upon by sex traffickers and looked out for seniors who have been cheated by scam artists,” she said.
“As a native Nevadan, former prosecutor and attorney general, I care about the people of our state and that’s who I’ll be standing up for in the Senate.”
Masto would be the first Latina elected to the Senate if she wins, and Nevada’s first female senator.
“I’m running for the Senate to continue my work standing up for Nevada seniors, consumers, homeowners, women and children,” she said.
Masto, a Democrat, served as the state’s top lawyer from 2007 to 2015. She wasn’t eligible to run for a third term in 2014 due to Nevada’s term limits. She served as the executive vice chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education up until her announcement last week.
The former attorney general already has one endorsement, and a major one at that.
Last month, Reid himself backed Masto -- mere hours after the longtime Democratic senator announced he would not seek reelection.
“I am proud to endorse her,” Reid said in an email to supporters. “She’s spent a lifetime fighting to protect Nevada families. And I know she will continue that work in the Senate.”
Masto also has the backing of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
“Catherine Cortez Masto has made protecting Nevada families and consumers her life’s work, and she is the strongest candidate to keep this Senate seat in Democratic hands and continue Harry Reid’s legacy of fighting for Nevada’s best interests,” U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, of Montana and chair of the DSCC, said in a statement April 8.
“Cortez Masto’s record and her reputation for integrity and staunch advocacy will power her campaign to a victory in 2016.”
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.