Cortez Masto endorsed by 14 members of GOP rival Laxalt’s family

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) was endorsed on Wednesday by 14 family members of her Republican challenger, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, according to a new report.

“Catherine is a model of the ‘Nevada grit’ that we so often use to describe our Nevada forefathers. Her entire career is not a simple ‘sound-bite’ that merely speaks of supporting Nevada,” the family members wrote in the letter, shared by The Nevada Independent.

The three-page letter chronicles Cortez Masto’s public service, lauds her Senate decisions and highlights her support for women’s rights, Nevada industries and land preservation — but does not mention Laxalt as her opponent.

“It’s not surprising that once again a handful of family members and spouses, half of whom do not live in Nevada, and most of whom are Democrats, are supporting a Democrat. They think that Nevada & our country are heading in the right direction,” Laxalt said on Twitter after the endorsement.

“I believe Nevadans don’t agree with the Biden/Masto agenda of high gas prices, soaring inflation, rising crime, and an open border,” the Republican candidate added.

This isn’t the first time that members of Laxalt’s family have turned away from his campaign ambitions.  A dozen members of Laxalt’s family previously penned an op-ed in the Reno Gazette Journal urging voters against the then-attorney general when he ran for governor in 2018.

A spokesperson for Cortez Masto’s campaign told The Hill that the Democrat appreciates the Laxalt family’s addition to “a growing list” of bipartisan supporters.

The tight race between the two candidates has some wary of a potential red wave in the midterms.

A poll released Wednesday showed Cortez Masto up 2 points over Laxalt, 46 percent to 44 percent, just four weeks ahead of the November elections.

Updated: 8:57 p.m.

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