The Las Vegas Strip is again teeming with tourists, its casinos are minting billions and more people than ever are now working in Nevada. But soaring housing costs and gasoline prices have handed Republicans an opportunity to flip a U.S. Senate seat and reverse years of Democratic gains in the state.
Many Nevada voters say that inflation has soured them on President Joe Biden, a distaste that threatens the re-election prospects of a fellow Democrat, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, in her race against Republican Adam Laxalt.
Cortez Masto, who has held a narrow edge in polls, is trying to counter that by showing sympathy for voters’ hardships and backing policies such as lowering drug prices and offering housing incentives to ease pressure on household budgets.
