Catherine Cortez Masto won a hotly contested Senate race in Nevada. Photo Copyright 2016 Carolyn E. Wright

By Dave Phillips, New York Times

After a close race fueled by record outside spending, Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat, won the Nevada Senate contest on Tuesday to become the first Latina senator. She defeated Representative Joe Heck to fill the seat of Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader, who is retiring after three decades in the Senate. Outside groups spent nearly $90 million on the tight race, but the biggest factor might have been Donald J. Trump.

Cortez Masto, 52, a former Nevada attorney general and the granddaughter of a Mexican immigrant, focused her campaign on immigration overhaul and future Supreme Court picks before the Senate. She capitalized on the extensive ground operation built by Hillary Clinton and energized Latinos by railing against Trump’s plan to build a border wall, while trying to pin Trump’s most controversial views on her opponent.

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