By John Celock
A Nevada Republican’s decision to withdraw his endorsement of Donald Trump is hurting him in his Senate race, a new poll shows.
A Public Policy Poll released Wednesday shows Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto leading Republican Joe Heck 43 percent to 39 percent in the state’s competitive U.S. Senate race. The poll also shows that 34 percent of those polled are less likely to vote for Heck after his decision not to back Trump, compared to 19 percent who said they would be more likely to back Heck. Heck pulled his support of Trump over the weekend after a 2005 video of Trump saying that he would grope women came to light.
The poll also indicated that Heck’s support amongst Republicans dropped from 76 percent to 13 percent in the week before his decision to pull his support for Trump, compared to 70 percent to 15 percent after his announcement.
The race between Cortez Masto, a former state attorney general, and Heck, a congressman, is one of the most competitive Senate races in the country. The pair are competing to succeed retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D).
Cortez Mastro is Reid’s hand picked successor. She served two terms as attorney general, leaving office in 2015, following a stint as chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Miller (D) in the 1990s. Heck, an emergency medical physician, is a three-term congressman and former state senator.
The Nevada Senate race has remained competitive since Reid announcement his retirement last year. Democrats need to retain the seat as part of their effort to retake the Senate majority.