Nevada: Why the Culinary Union unendorsed Democratic lawmakers

Monday, May 20, 2024 3:26 PM
  • Tabitha Mueller, The Nevada Independent

Without the help of the Culinary Union Workers Local 226, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) might not be in the Senate.

The union in 2022 worked closely with the state’s Democratic political organizing framework (dubbed the “Reid Machine” for its connections to the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)) to organize and deliver a narrow victory for Cortez Masto in an unfavorable midterm election year “under the most adverse circumstances it has ever faced.”

The union’s canvassing efforts and transportation of workers to the polls also supported down-ballot victories for several vulnerable Democratic constitutional office candidates, aided the state’s three House Democrats in keeping their swing seats and helped Democrats expand their legislative majorities.