Here's where Cortez Masto and Amodei agree on CD-2

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In today's edition: Our final #takes on the primary. Plus: Catherine Cortez Masto addresses Democrats' chances in NV-02 and how Dems would make life cheaper — but not Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner or Israel — and Aaron Ford and Teresa Benitez-Thompson respond to GOP attacks.

Ahead of the midterms, we've written 25 editions of this newsletter, culminating in a packed primary week. Programming note: We're taking a break from Indy Elections next week. But watch your inbox again two weeks from today, when we'll jump right into the general election. 

We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected]. 

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Our post-primary reporting takeaways

D.C. Correspondent Mini Racker: There's been a lot of talk about President Donald Trump's last-minute endorsement of David Flippo (R) in the 2nd Congressional District, which shocked many Republicans because it went outside the usual endorsement process. Some blamed Rep. Mark Amodei's (R-NV) critiques of the administration. ("My criticisms of the president aren't a gnat on a fly's ass," he told me.) Others suggested state GOP chair Michael McDonald got involved. But according to my reporting, it was another lawmaker who tipped the scales — and he isn't from Nevada.

Capital Bureau Chief Tabitha Mueller: What struck me this election cycle was the strong showing women made in major statewide races. The attorney general candidates from both major parties, Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) and attorney Adriana Guzmán Fralick (R), are women, and Democrats overwhelmingly supported Assm. Sandra Jauregui (D) for lieutenant governor and Tya Mathis-Coleman in a contested race for treasurer. It notably broke down in the Democratic governor's primary. You can unpack what happened in my analysis here. 

Politics and Data Reporter Eric Neugeboren: The most surprising result for me was Jim Marchant's win in the Republican secretary of state primary. He told me he only raised a few thousand dollars all cycle long and didn't spend any money on ads or yard signs, though his name ID is high given he's run in six straight cycles. By contrast, Shirley Folkins-Roberts, the Reno businesswoman and political newcomer backed by Gov. Joe Lombardo (R), spent about $200,000 on ads to only get a second-place finish. It goes to show that money isn't everything.

Reporter Isabella Aldrete: I was taken aback by the outcomes of the treasurer races. In the Democratic primary, Tya Mathis-Coleman, a current staffer in Treasurer Zach Conine's (D) office, boat raced one-term Assm. Joe Dalia (D-Henderson) in a landslide (55 percent to 30 percent). On the Republican side, policy analyst Drew Johnson — who narrowly lost a 2022 Clark County Commission race and 2024 bid to unseat Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) — beat financial executive Jeff Carter by barely 2 percentage points. Although Carter is a newcomer to Nevada, he loaned his campaign more than $100,000, which I think contributed to his solid showing. 

Reporter Kate Reynolds: Going into Election Day, I knew that Assm. Howard Watts (D-Las Vegas) was in some danger. The four-term lawmaker who distinguished himself in the Assembly for his environmental advocacy was facing first-time candidate Miguel Dávila, an urban planner and Service Employees International Union Local 1107 member with strong canvassing and social media operations. But I was surprised to see Watts actually lose. He had outraised Dávila and had the strength of the Assembly Democratic Caucus behind him, yet was still defeated by less than 50 votes. 

We'll have a story soon on how Watts became the sole legislative incumbent to lose their primary election this year. 

Southern Nevada Reporter Oona Milliken: Upsets, surprises indeed — I was not expecting to see progressive Minja Yan taking home the Democratic primary win against establishment-backed Minddie Lloyd in the race for the Clark County County Commission District F seat. In that same seat, Assm. Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas) beat out businessman Albert Mack (R), who had outspent her. One thing's certain about the general — it'll be hard to get any uglier than that Republican primary was.

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Ford and Benitez-Thompson respond to critics as attention shifts towards general election

Fresh off election night, 2nd Congressional District Democratic nominee Teresa Benitez-Thompson clapped back at Republican nominee David Flippo's comments painting her as Nevada's version of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY).

"They're going to tell you I have two heads and somewhere I've got a snake's tail," Benitez-Thompson said at a press conference Thursday at Washoe County Democratic Party headquarters. "But that's exactly what his party has been about. They've been about throwing mud and calling names."

She added that the vast majority of the bills she introduced as a state legislator were bipartisan.

Democratic gubernatorial nominee Aaron Ford also addressed criticism of his out-of-state travel while serving as Nevada attorney general, arguing that the trips were necessary to secure policy victories and legal settlements benefiting Nevada.

"How do you think we got $1.2 billion of opioid settlements over the course of the last few years?" Ford said. "It came from work convenings that I've had with Democratic and Republican attorneys general."

— James Wolfgang Perez

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What we're reading and writing

How far can the Lombardo endorsement take you? 

Would Amodei endorse the Democrat in the race to replace him?

Turnout in Washoe was record-breaking. 

It's really hard to beat the machine.

A ballot whoopsie in Fallon.

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D.C. Download: CCM doubles down

As the leader of ModSquad, which boosts centrist voices in the Democratic Party, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) is a key political voice in Washington. I spoke to her on Monday about how the primaries have played out and her views going into the general election. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

MR: I've been covering CD2 really closely and I'm curious how you feel about Teresa Benitez-Thompson's chances there and if you plan to use your influence to help her out.

CCM: I appreciate Congressman Amodei. I've known him for a long time, and I agree with him. That seat is now in play because of Flippo. … That gives us an opportunity. You've got somebody who is not even from Northern Nevada. He's a carpetbagger. He's an extremist. He's a rubber stamp for [President] Donald Trump, and we know Donald Trump's policies have harmed Nevada. … Teresa, she is a proven fighter there. She represented the district … for 12 years. She knows the issues very well. … There's no doubt in my mind that she has a chance to win in November. 

MR: You told Politico last week you weren't quite ready to endorse Maine Senate Democratic nominee Graham Platner. Do you have any plans to meet with him?

CCM: My focus right now is helping us flip the Senate and that's in some key races. One of them is Iowa, where we have a strong candidate, Josh Turek, who just won his primary. North Carolina with Roy Cooper, who I served as attorney generals with. … And then I think we have opportunities with Mary Peltola in Alaska and Sherrod Brown in Ohio. I look forward to helping all of them. That's where my focus is going to be. 

MR: Do you think the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee should be doing more to influence these primaries to make sure the best candidates come out of them?

CCM: The moderate candidates are the best qualified. They have to appeal to everyone, not just your base, but they have to appeal to the nonpartisans, right, the independents as well as those moderate Republicans, and they do that by getting out, talking about the issues that matter to them, and talking about solving problems, and not creating them, like this president. I can tell you, just like Nevada, these swing states are struggling because of President Trump's policies, and the Republicans in leadership continue to be a rubber stamp to him.

MR: There's been a lot of criticisms in the primaries of support for Israel and for AIPAC. Has that changed your thinking on those issues or do you think those voters are missing something?

CCM: Listen, I think voters are going to vote the way that, rightfully so, that they decide is the best candidate to represent them. I will tell you, so many people across Nevada and across the country, really, their struggle right now is on these high costs. … The price of gasoline is high, groceries are high, housing is high, health care is unaffordable. … We have to focus on solving those problems and get back to a time where we're really helping that working class, that middle class, that's what this is about. That's what built this country. 

MR: Can you tell me some of the things you think Democrats will do in Congress to make life more affordable if they take control in November?

CCM: I have legislation around how we can help people to afford energy, and get back to a time when we're helping subsidize them and give them a little bit more money in their pocket than we do to these big oil companies, who are now making billions of dollars because of Trump's chosen war with Iran. … Instead of getting tax breaks to so many billionaires, let's give them to the working class, let's give them to families who are struggling right now, whether it is in the form of keeping more money in their pocket or helping them with their child care or child tax credits. There's legislation around that already. … We just need to be in leadership and control to be able to pass it.

— Mini Racker

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A post that caught our eye: 

The return of Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who's making our presidential tracker look like a leaderboard.

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