Jewish partisan groups fund campaigns in tight Nevada Senate race

Ad for incumbent Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto ties Republican challenger Adam Laxalt to antisemitism, includes image from 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre

JTA — Democratic and Republican Jewish groups are campaigning in the Nevada US Senate race, where the state’s substantial Jewish community could help make the difference in a close contest.

Adam Laxalt, the state’s former attorney general, is seeking to unseat incumbent Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

The Republican Jewish Coalition’s political action committee has hired a field staffer in Nevada and is running a phone bank and door-knocking operation to benefit Adam Laxalt, according to RJC director Matt Brooks.

The RJC staged a rally for Laxalt in Las Vegas on September 28, which was attended by Miri Adelson, the widow of Jewish casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, and one of the GOP’s leading donors.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Democratic Council of America’s affiliated PAC on Wednesday launched a 30-second video ad tying Laxalt, the former state attorney general, to former US president Donald Trump, antisemitism, extremist violence, stringent anti-abortion measures and guns.

“This is where Adam Laxalt will take America,” says the ad, which will reach Jewish voters and Independents on digital platforms. It includes an image of a memorial to the 11 Jewish worshippers massacred in their Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.

Laxalt has embraced some of Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election. His communications director, Courtney Holland, was among those marching on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, a protest spurred by Trump’s lies that culminated in deadly violence.

Laxalt opposes abortion in most cases while saying state legislatures should determine abortion laws. He backs the removal of restrictions on gun ownership.

The ad’s reference to Laxalt’s purported support for the antisemitic and racist “great replacement theory” is based on a Democratic-aligned news site’s analysis of Laxalt’s immigration policy.

Voter research shows Laxalt and Cortez Masto essentially tied. Nevada’s Jewish community numbers close to 80,000 people, a constituency that could make the difference in a close election.