LAS VEGAS — The Culinary Workers Union members who are knocking on doors to get out the vote are on the cursed-at front lines of the Democratic Party’s midterm battle.
Most voters do not open their doors. And when some do answer, the canvassers might wish they hadn’t.
“You think I am going to vote for those Democrats after all they’ve done to ruin the economy?” a voter shouted one evening last week from her entryway in a working-class neighborhood of East Las Vegas.
Miguel Gonzalez, a 55-year-old chef who described himself as a conservative Christian who has voted for Republicans for most of his life, was more polite but no more convinced. “I don’t agree with anything Democrats are doing at all,” he said after taking a fistful of fliers from the union canvassers.
Those who know Nevada best have always viewed its blue-state status as something befitting a desert: a kind of mirage. Democrats are actually a minority among registered voters, and most of the party’s victories in the last decade were narrowly decided. But the state has long been a symbolic linchpin for the party — vital to its national coalition and its hold on the blue West.
Now, Democrats in Nevada are facing potential losses up and down the ballot in November and bracing for a seismic shift that could help Republicans win control of both houses of Congress. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto remains one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the country. Gov. Steve Sisolak is fighting his most formidable challenger yet. And the state’s three House Democrats could all lose their seats.
The Democratic juggernaut built by former Senator Harry M. Reid is on its heels, staring down the most significant spate of losses in more than a decade.
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
The elections are less than 40 days away, and our reporters are across the country following candidates and analyzing the campaigns.
Early voting and mail voting have already started in a handful of states.
Here’s a look at the week in political news →
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
The Democrats’ best opportunity to take a Republican seat in the Senate is looking unsure. The Democratic lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, John Fetterman, has seen his lead shrink over the celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz, who is consolidating support among Republican voters and excoriating his opponent as a “soft on crime.”
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
Oregon never used to be a battleground. But a poll by The Oregonian found a dead heat between the Republican governor candidate, Christine Drazen, and the Democrat, Tina Kotek, with Betsy Johnson, an independent, at 18 percent. The Fifth Congressional District is a toss-up; two other Democratic seats are in play. Republicans say Portland chaos is the reason.
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
A bright spot for Democrats may be the crucial governor’s race in Pennsylvania, where the Republican nominee, Doug Mastriano, appeared recently to be flailing. His campaign is airing no advertising, and events in Harrisburg and Philadelphia attracted fairly sparse crowds.
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
Former Senator William Cohen, a Republican, once said, “Government is the enemy until you need a friend.” After Hurricane Ian, government critics in Florida, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, found themselves pleading for federal support. Natural disasters tend to give presidents and their parties a chance to show compassion.
5 Takeaways From the Campaign Trail
Jonathan Weisman📍Tracking the midterm elections
Former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas, a Democrat, could not best Senator Ted Cruz in 2018 or win the presidential nomination. So it may be now or never as O’Rourke tries to unseat Gov. Greg Abbott. Their only debate was Friday. Though Mr. Abbott was on the defensive about electricity, property taxes and the Uvalde shootings, neither man had a breakthrough.
Catch up on more political news.
Source: Read Full Article