NEVADA
     Nov. 8, 2016 U.S. Senate

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+Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
 521,994 47.10%
Joe Heck (R)
495,079 44.67%
NOTC
42,257
3.81%
Tom Jones (IAP) 17,128
1.55%
Tom Sawyer (NPP)
14,208
1.28%
Tony Gumina (NPP)
10,740
0.97%
Jarrod Williams (NPP)
6,888
0.62%

1,108,294

Active Registered Voters: 1,467,263.  Total Turnout: 1,125,429.
Plurality: 26,715 votes (2.43 percentage points).
 NV Secretary of State




Notes: 
Sen. Harry Reid (D)'s retirement led to an open seat race pitting former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto against U.S. Rep. Joe Heck. 

The June 14 primaries were relatively noncompetitive.  Cortez Masto, who was elected to two terms as Attorney General in 2006 and 2010 before being term limited in 2014, won with 80.58% of the vote against a little known opponent.  Heck, a doctor who served one term in the State Senate before being elected to Congress in 2010 won 64.90% of the vote to
22.77% for Sharron Angle. 

Trump's candidacy raised complications for Republican candidates around the country; for Heck, following release of the Access Hollywood tapes, he withdrew his support on Oct. 8. 

Cortez Masto and Heck participated in just one debate, at Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas on Oct. 14 (>). 

Democrats had a 6.07 percentage point registration advantage
[Dem. 577,697 (39.44%), Rep. 488,861 (33.37%), NonP. 304,528 (20.79%)] and the formidable "Reid machine."  After a closely fought campaign, Cortez Masto held the seat for the Democrats, winning by 2.43 percentage points.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics this was the third most expensive U.S. Senate race of the cycle; a total of $128.1 million was spent, $30.9 million by the campaigns and $97.2 million by outside groups (>).
  According to the FEC for 2015-16 the Cortez Masto campaign reported disbursements of $19.0 million compared to $11.9 million for the Heck campaign (>). 


Campaign Managers:
Catherine Cortez Masto: 
Scott Fairchild
Previously national campaigns director for the League of Conservation Voters from June 2011.  Campaign manager on Rahm Emanuel’s 2011 bid for Chicago Mayor, from Nov. 2010.  Chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy (PA).  Campaign manager on Murphy's campaigns for Congress in 2006 and 2008; also took leave of absence from Murphy's office to run Bill Foster's campaign for Congress in the Illinois special election.  Worked on Tim Kaine's campaign for governor of Virginia, 2005. Worked on John Kerry's presidential campaign starting in New Hampshire and in the Toledo, OH office in the Fall.  Worked on Matt Dunne's campaign for Vermont State Senate in 2002.  Undergraduate degrees in government and history from Wesleyan University (CT), 2000.  Grew up on Long Island, NY.

Joe Heck: 
James Langenderfer
(Nov. 2015)  Legislative director to U.S. Rep. Heck from 2011.  Legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Jean Schmidt (OH), 2007-11.  Staff sergeant in the U.S. Army, 2001-06.  Studied political science at Ohio University.


See also:
David F. Damore.  "Nevada Senate Race: The Reid Machine's Last Stand" in The Roads to Congress 2016 (pp. 305-319), Jan. 2018.




_________________
Trump Complications

Oct. 19, 2016 - Signs in Nevada Democratic Party HQ seek to link Republican U.S. Senate nominee Dr. Joe Heck to
Donald Trump. Heck announced he was rescinding his endorsement of Trump on Oct. 8, angering Trump supporters.


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