Democrat poll shows Nevada Senate race a tie

WASHINGTON — Nevada’s Senate race between Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Rep. Joe Heck is an early dead-heat, according to a poll conducted for Democrats and released Wednesday.

Masto leads Heck 42 percent to 41 percent, well within the 3.8 percent margin of error in the poll taken by Public Policy Polling, a firm commissioned by the Senate Majority PAC that is run by allies of Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The poll also showed Hillary Clinton as the presidential favorite in Nevada. The poll was taken of 677 Nevada voters on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the firm, Clinton has a 48-43 percent lead over Marco Rubio; 48-41 on Scott Walker and 49-37 on Jeb Bush. Clinton led Donald Trump, 48-41. It was not clear if other Republicans were measured against Clinton.

The Senate Majority PAC declined to make public the internal numbers from the poll. Tom Jensen, director of Public Policy Polling, said they indicate Clinton will have coattails among undecided voters that probably will mean additional support for Cortez Masto, the state‘s former attorney general.

Jensen also said 59 percent of Nevadans polled favored raising the federal minimum wage, a position that could give Masto a leg up.

“The Nevada Senate race starts out about as tight as it can be,” Jensen said. “But Hillary Clinton’s strength in the state and the continued growth of voters in Democratic-friendly demographic groups leave Catherine Cortez Masto pretty well positioned for next year.

Republicans attempted to throw cold water on the poll, which comes a week after a GOP poll paid for by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce showed Heck with a 50-36 lead. It also comes as the chamber is running television ads in Las Vegas and Reno promoting Heck.

“Frankly, it’s surprising that Catherine Cortez Masto isn’t winning by 100 points given that Harry Reid’s Super PAC paid a Democrat polling company to find that his handpicked candidate is winning,” GOP spokesman Jahan Wilcox said. “Anything that comes from Democrat Public Policy Polling is about as credible as Kim Jong-Il shooting 11 holes-in-one the first time he played golf."

Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.