Sen. Cortez Masto is first Latina to lead crusade against GOP Senate

In 2018, Democrats took back the House. In 2020, Nevada’s Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto will lead efforts to take down the GOP majority in the Senate and help Democrats reclaim control of all of Congress.

Cortez Masto, Nevada’s senior Senator, was tapped by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) for the next two years. The DSCC is the campaign arm of the Senate Democrats, tasked with both protecting incumbents up for re-election and flipping seats currently held by Republicans.

Reflecting a growing diversity among Democrats in Congress, Cortez is the first Latina and the second woman to hold this key leadership post.

Cortez Masto “breaks glass ceilings, is hardworking, astute politically, an outstanding fundraiser and respected by every member of our caucus,” Schumer said in a statement.

Senate Democrats are “expected to be on offense for the 2020 cycle,” notes Roll Call, as Republicans will be defending a substantial number of vulnerable seats.

Two states are likely to be at the top of Cortez Masto’s list: Colorado and Maine.

Colorado voted for President Obama twice and backed Hillary Clinton in 2016. In the 2018 midterm, Democrats swept into complete control of the state by flipping the state Senate from red to blue, and keeping control of the state House and governor’s mansion.

Republican Trump loyalist and hardline conservative Sen. Cory Gardner is up for re-election in 2020, and the GOP is already worried they will lose the seat.

In New England, Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins is now the lone congressional Republican from the entire region. Collins showed her true colors as a Trump defender during the debate over Supreme Court nominee and alleged sexual predator Brett Kavanaugh.

Her vote to confirm him betrayed her previous statements purporting to support women’s health and reproductive rights, and it did not sit well with Mainers.

Cortez Masto will also fight in states like Iowa, North Carolina, and Arizona, where Republican incumbents represent states that swung towards Democrats in the 2018 midterm.

Democrats won hard-fought Senate seats in Nevada and Arizona in 2018. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto hopes to build on those successes and lead Democrats back to the majority in 2020.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.