2022 Nevada Senate Voters Guide

Catherine Cortez Masto (D) vs Adam Laxalt (R)

US Senate | Election | Nov 8, 2022

The Candidates

Catherine Cortez Masto

Catherine Cortez Masto

Democrat

Incumbent
Adam Laxalt

Adam Laxalt

Republican

The Issues

Abortion

Ban or legal?

Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
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Economy

Decrease or increase government investment in, and regulation of, the economy?

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Health Care

Increase government role in health care, such as expanding Medicaid, limiting drug prices, or promoting COVID safety?

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Labor

Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?

Adam Laxalt (R)

Harder. Opposes “prioritizing unions over ordinary Nevadans.” “Supports Nevada’s right-to-work law,” which allows employees in a unionized workplace to not pay union dues.

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Minimum Wage

Keep or raise the state minimum wage from $7.25? If raise, how much?

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Police and Community

How to address police use of force?

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Student Financial Aid

Support lowering interest on student loans or forgiving them?

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Taxes

Should corporations and wealthier individuals pay less or more taxes?

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We include only candidates polling 15% or more. But check out others, including Barry Lindemann (I).

guides.vote is a nonpartisan effort to show where candidates stand, with links to credible sources. We do not support or oppose any political party or candidate for office. Vote411.org offers guides to local races.

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Catherine Cortez Masto

democratic Party

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Adam Laxalt

republican Party

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Catherine Cortez Masto

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Adam Laxalt

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Abortion

Ban or legal?

Legal. After the overturn of Roe v. Wade, supports a bill to “enshrine Roe protections in federal law and guarantee access to abortion” nationwide. Opposes a bill to ban abortion in every state after 15 weeks. Supports bills to ensure women can access contraception and travel safely to get abortions in states.Ban. Said Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision “was always a joke.” Overturning it was a “historic victory for the sanctity of life.” Supports a referendum banning abortion after 13 weeks and opposes taxpayer funding for abortion. Abortion should be decided “on a state-by-state basis.”
Climate Change

Should climate change be a top priority? Tax or limit the output of greenhouse gases, or support renewable energy?

Yes. Voted for Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including $369 billion in clean energy incentives. In 2019 cosponsored a bill to restore US climate regulations to what they were before Trump took office. Seeks federal support for Nevada’s solar energy industry.No. Humans play a role in climate change, but “vigorous debate” is needed on the issue. Poor forest management, not global warming, causes wildfires. Solar and wind power will “never get the job done.” “The sun can stop shining, the wind can stop blowing, and these things take energy just to be able to use.”  Opposes IRA.
Economy

Decrease or increase government investment in, and regulation of, the economy?

Increase. During COVID, “fought for emergency relief to save Nevada’s small businesses.” Supported the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with “historic investments in Nevada” and in “American jobs and manufacturing.”Decrease. “We need less regulations, not more.” Opposes the spending in the Inflation Reduction Act. Democrats’ pumping “trillions of dollars into an already overheated economy” through COVID relief bills was what caused inflation.
Elections

Did Joe Biden legitimately win the 2020 Presidential election?

Yes. “Joe Biden won the Presidency in a free and fair election.” “In Nevada,…extremists tried to challenge our election results….” “They filed…five lawsuits challenging the security of the election system…[all were] thrown out or failed.”No. As NV Trump campaign co-chair, filed in court on November 5, 2020 to stop counting of disputed ballots. In October 2021 said Biden is president, but wouldn't say if he was legitimately elected. In 2022 called Trump “President of the United States.”
Environment

Loosen or tighten environmental regulations?

Tighten. Introduced bills to foster wastewater recycling and erosion control to combat drought. Has opposed efforts to make Yucca Mountain a nuclear waste site. As attorney general, supported a $1 billion settlement with Anadarko Petroleum toward Lake Mead cleanup.Loosen. Opposes “costly and burdensome mandates on energy providers.” Supports “government relief” for fracking and “the shale revolution.” In 2016 challenged EPA’s authority to impose new regulations on power plant emissions.
Gun Laws

Pass less or more restrictive legislation on guns?

More. Co-sponsored bills in 2019 to ban high-capacity magazines and 2021 to expand background checks to all gun sales. Voted for a bill to fund implementing red-flag laws and strengthen background checks.Less. Opposed a red-flag bill that became Nevada law in 2020. “Increasing restrictions on law-abiding citizens’ access to firearms is not effective in reducing gun violence.” In 2017 supported national legislation for citizens to carry concealed weapons in states where they do not live.
Health Care

Increase government role in health care, such as expanding Medicaid, limiting drug prices, or promoting COVID safety?

Yes. “Repeatedly voted to defend the Affordable Care Act” (Obamacare). Supported allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices and capping the cost of insulin at $35 a month for people on Medicare.No. Opposes Obamacare, which subsidizes states to expand Medicaid, but in 2018 said wouldn’t reverse NV Medicaid expansion. Supports deregulating the pharmaceutical industry to lower drug prices. Would establish work requirements for Medicaid recipients.
Immigration

How to handle immigration? Support a path to citizenship for “DACA” participants brought to the US as children?

Introduced a bill to expand joint operations programs to “ensure our border is secure.” Opposed ending Title 42, which let border officials turn away asylum seekers, warning it would lead to a surge. U.S. must “do more to put Dreamers on a path to citizenship.”Will “finish the wall…and close the porous southern border.” There is “nothing humane” about a policy that “encourages caravans of desperate people to risk their lives.” In 2015, joined a lawsuit that blocked an Obama executive order expanding DACA.
Labor

Make it easier or harder for unions to organize?

Easier. Cosponsored a bill to “strengthen protections for workers' right to organize.” “Will continue to work every day to improve the economy and protect the right to organize.Harder. Opposes “prioritizing unions over ordinary Nevadans.” “Supports Nevada’s right-to-work law,” which allows employees in a unionized workplace to not pay union dues.
LGBTQ Rights

Limit or expand LGBTQ rights?

Expand. Cosponsored a bill prohibiting discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in employment, education, credit, jury service, and housing. Supports gay marriage.Limit. Has opposed gays in the military, personally opposed same-sex marriage, and sought protection for people denying services to same-sex couples on religious grounds.
Marijuana

Ban or legal?

Legal. Supports federal decriminalization. Cosponsored a bill to let each state decide “the best approach to marijuana” and give legal cannabis businesses access to banking. Opposed 2016 Nevada recreational legalization initiative because the infrastructure wasn’t yet in place.Ban. As attorney general declined to sign a letter to Congress supporting legislation to give cannabis businesses access banking services. Opposed a 2016 Nevada initiative legalizing recreational marijuana.
Minimum Wage

Keep or raise the state minimum wage from $7.25? If raise, how much?

Yes. In 2016 supported a $12/hour minimum. Voted for a 2021 amendment to add a $15/hour wage to COVID relief.No. “Increases to the minimum wage will reduce employment opportunities for Nevadans and hurt workers by reducing hours, reducing benefits, and reducing on-the-job training.”
Police and Community

How to address police use of force?

I don't support defunding police departments. I support reforming them.” Would “rethink policing” with behavioral health services as first responders dealing with homelessness or substance abuse, rather than police. Introduced a bill for domestic violence advocates to accompany police response teams.No specific position found on use of force. “This anti-cop rhetoric, this demonization of police, is demoralizing.” “Few things are more important to me than fighting rising crime in Nevada and across the country.” “I will oppose defunding the police and ensure our officers have the tools they need to do their jobs.
Student Financial Aid

Support lowering interest on student loans or forgiving them?

Yes. Would “expand Pell Grants for lower income students, target loan forgiveness to those in need, and actually make college more affordable for working families.” Biden debt forgiveness does not address college affordability.Mostly no. Calls Biden’s debt forgiveness plan "unconstitutional, immoral, and fundamentally bad policy.” Has proposed a program to forgive doctors’ student loans if they practice in Nevada for a set number of years.
Taxes

Should corporations and wealthier individuals pay less or more taxes?

Mixed. Supports the Inflation Reduction Act’s taxation of “billionaires and large corporations.” But opposed a tax increase on Nevada’s mining industry because it would kill jobs.Unclear. Opposes the Inflation Reduction Act, saying it will “increase taxes on millions of Americans across every income bracket.”
Voting Rules

Support tightened restrictions on such voting rules as absentee and early voting, and voter ID?

No. Cosponsored bills to expand voting access and restrict state practices to limit voting rights. “American democracy is under attack, with states targeting voters of color and suppressing their right to vote.”Yes. Supports requiring voter ID; opposes ballot drop boxes and universal voting by mail. “Voter ID doesn’t suppress anyone’s vote. It protects it.” Plans to file lawsuits about 2022 election early, “if there are lawsuits we can file to try to tighten up the election.”

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