Former Nevada Attorney General Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (D) said Tuesday she plans to run for outgoing Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) Senate seat.
She made the announcement on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
When Reid announced that he would not seek re-election, Democratic campaign officials interviewed by TPM repeatedly mentioned Cortez Masto as a strong potential candidate on the Democratic side of the race.
Former Secretary of State Ross Miller, another Democrat who strategists suggested could run for Reid’s seat, quickly tweeted his support for the former attorney general.
I’m proud to support my friend Catherine Cortez Masto in her bid for US Senate pic.twitter.com/GVK2IyZFge
— Ross Miller (@rossjmiller) April 8, 2015
Cortez Masto served two terms as attorney general but couldn’t run for a third term because of Nevada’s term limits. On Monday, Politico reported that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is expected to back Cortez Mastoif she decided to run for Senate.
An endorsement by the DSCC would suggest that national Democrats are not interested in allowing for a contested primary like between Cincinnati Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld (D) and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland (D), who are both running for Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-OH) Senate seat.
Reid himself, in an interview with Nevada’s NPR affiliate, called Cortez Masto “a great candidate.”
