Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, Nevada Democrat, on Monday told President Trump that the country isn’t “intimidated” by him and dismissed his recent attacks on efforts to expand mail-in voting during the coronavirus pandemic.
She said voting by mail has been a “secure, proven option” for decades and that the president himself has requested an absentee ballot twice already this year.
“Mr. President: Nevada is not intimidated by you. America is not intimidated by you,” Ms. Cortez Masto said on the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. “We are united by shared values, shared history, and shared rights — including our fundamental right to vote.”
Mr. Trump’s campaign has sued over a new Nevada law to automatically send active registered voters in the state a vote-by-mail ballot ahead of the election.
The president has tried to distinguish between absentee voting, where people actively affirm they can’t physically go to the polls for a valid reason, and new laws like Nevada’s where voters are automatically sent a mail-in ballot.
Ms. Cortez Masto, first elected in 2016, had been mentioned as a possible vice presidential pick for presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joseph R. Biden but withdrew her name from consideration in late May.
The Nevada Democrat chairs Senate Democrats’ official campaign arm as the party looks to retake control of the U.S. Senate after the November election.
She predicted Democrats will flip the Senate and said they would immediately pursue policies to expand voting access and “protect voting rights.”
Republicans currently hold an effective 53-47 majority but are defending seats in a number of competitive states, including Colorado, Arizona, North Carolina and Maine.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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