Catherine Cortez Masto (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from Nevada. She assumed office on January 3, 2017. Her current term ends on January 3, 2029.
Masto (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the U.S. Senate to represent Nevada. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
The race for Nevada's open U.S. Senate seat was one of Ballotpedia's nine competitive battleground races in 2016. Cortez Masto defeated U.S. Rep. Joe Heck (R) and four minor party candidates in the general election to win retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s (D) seat. Her victory on November 8, 2016, made her the first-ever Latina elected to the United States Senate.
Before being elected to the Senate, Masto served as attorney general of Nevada from 2007 to 2015. She also served as an assistant county manager for Clark County, Nevada, was a federal criminal prosecutor for the United States Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., and was chief of staff to Governor Bob Miller.
Masto earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada-Reno in 1986 and continued her education at Gonzaga University, where she graduated with a J.D. in 1990. Following her graduation, Masto joined the Nevada State Bar Association. Her initial steps onto the Nevada political stage came when she received the position of Southern District Director for then-Governor Bob Miller. Three years later she was appointed Miller's Chief of Staff while simultaneously operating as an assistant to the United States Attorney General. Her employment in both of these roles ended in 2002. That same year, Masto began her work as assistant county manager for Clark County.
