Elections

The demand that Congress honor a treaty and seat a nonvoting delegate comes amid growing clashes over sovereignty and a tight race for Oklahoma’s governor, a Cherokee citizen.TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — In 1835, U.S. officials traveled to the Cherokee Nation’s capital in Georgia to sign a treaty forcing the Cherokees off their lands in the American South, opening them to white settlers. The Treaty of New Echota sent thousands on a death march to new lands in Oklahoma.The Cherokees were forced at gunpoint to honor the treaty. But though it stipulated that the Nation would be entitled to a nonvoting seat in the House of Representatives, Congress reneged on that part of the deal. Now, amid a growing movement across Indian Country for greater representation and sovereignty, the Cherokees are pushing to seat their delegate, 187 years later.“For nearly two centuries, Congress has failed to honor that promise,” Chuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, said in a recent interview in the Cherokee capital of Tahlequah, in eastern Oklahoma. “It’s time to insist the United States keep its word.”The Cherokees and other tribal nations have made significant gains in recent decades, plowing income from sources like casino gambling into hospitals, meat-processing plants and lobbyists in Washington. At the same time, though, those tribes are seeing new threats to their efforts to govern themselves.A U.S. Supreme Court tilting hard to the right seems ready to undermine or reverse sovereignty rulings that were considered settled, while new state laws may affect how schools teach Native American history. And tribes are embroiled in a caustic feud with Oklahoma’s Republican governor — despite his distinction as the first Cherokee citizen to lead the state — that has helped to make his re-election bid next week a tossup.Amid such challenges, the Nation is trying to cobble together bipartisan support for its delegate, who, if seated, would resemble the nonvoting House members representing several territories and the District of Columbia. Such delegates cannot take part in final votes, but can introduce legislation and serve on committees.A new hospital for the Cherokee Nation in Tahlequah. Many tribal nations are pouring income from sources like casino gambling into health care and other needs.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesKimberly Teehee, the Cherokee Nation’s nominated delegate for a nonvoting seat in Congress. She is a Democrat and former adviser to President Barack Obama.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesKimberly Teehee, nominated in 2019 for the delegate position, said the role would open a new space for Indigenous representation. “We have priorities that are similar to other tribes when it comes to deployment of dollars, accessing health care, public safety, preserving our culture,” Ms. Teehee said. “This treaty right allows us to have a seat at the table.”The Cherokee Nation has about 430,000 citizens, Ms. Teehee said, which is more than the combined population of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which have their own delegates in Congress.The State of the 2022 Midterm ElectionsElection Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.Governor’s Races: Democrats and Republicans are heading into the final stretch of more than a dozen competitive contests for governor. Some battleground races could also determine who controls the Senate.Democrats’ Mounting Anxiety: Top Democratic officials are openly second-guessing their party’s pitch and tactics, saying Democrats have failed to unite around one central message.Social Security and Medicare: Republicans, eyeing a midterms victory, are floating changes to the safety net programs. Democrats have seized on the proposals to galvanize voters.Debunking Misinformation: Falsehoods and rumors are flourishing ahead of Election Day, especially in Pennsylvania. We debunked five of the most widespread voting-related claims.So far, the Nation has drawn backing from Native American leaders across the country, as well as measured support from members of Oklahoma’s congressional delegation, including Representative Tom Cole, a Republican and member of the Chickasaw Nation.The House Rules Committee, led by Mr. Cole and Representative Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is expected to hold a hearing on the Cherokee delegate in mid-November. Even if control of Congress changes in next week’s midterm elections, that could open the way for a vote before the end of the year.Tribal nations across the United States are closely following the debate, eyeing the possibility that it could set a precedent. The Choctaw Nation may also have the right to a delegate under the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830, signed before its removal from what is now Mississippi. Similarly, the Delaware Nation’s treaty with the United States in 1778 could allow its members a delegate.“I think you’ll see a significant outcry from the rest of Indian Country saying, ‘We want one, too,’” said M. Alexander Pearl, a law professor at the University of Oklahoma and a citizen of Chickasaw Nation. “And I think that they’re right.”Still, the Cherokees could face headwinds in the deeply divided House. Ms. Teehee is a Democrat and former adviser to President Barack Obama. A spokesman for Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the Cherokees’ effort.Mr. Cole, the Oklahoma Republican, has said that he doesn’t object to seating the delegate, but he also noted that “there’s a lot of challenges to it,” including the question of dual representation in the House.“There’s a lot of people that will say, ‘Well, that delegate’s chosen by a council, not by a general election,’” Mr. Cole said this year. “And Cherokees then get two votes: your vote for a council member and their vote for the congressman of their own district, so they sort of get to two bites of the apple.”Downtown Tahlequah on the Cherokee Reservation. The Cherokees were forced to march to Oklahoma after their land in the American South was signed over for use by white settlers.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesSeveral Cherokee leaders and representatives of the federal government celebrated the opening of a meat-processing plant in Tahlequah last month.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesA report by the Congressional Research Service raised other potential legal issues, including the possibility that the delegate provision would not apply now that Oklahoma is a state, not Indian Territory.The debate is lifting the veil on one of the most contentious periods between the United States and Indigenous peoples, when about a quarter of the 16,000 Cherokees who walked what’s known as the Trail of Tears died on their way to Oklahoma. “This is a chance to finally reckon with ethnic cleansing, and massive and catastrophic loss of life,” said Julie Reed, a historian and Cherokee Nation citizen who teaches at Penn State University.The push for a delegate after nearly two centuries also reflects the wider effort by Native Americans to exercise self-governance in ways that would have been unrecognizable to previous generations in Indian Country, a federal designation for land under tribal jurisdiction.Native candidates have recently won congressional seats in states ranging from Alaska to Kansas. Some tribes are buying back ancestral lands. And Indigenous nations are expanding their own criminal justice systems across the country.“The 1950s was the lowest point of Indian sovereignty,” said Robert J. Miller, a citizen of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma and a law professor at Arizona State University, citing the failed attempt by the U.S. government to disband tribes and relocate their members to cities. “The comeback has been incredible.”Such breakthroughs, however, are taking place against the backdrop of other challenges, including those before the Supreme Court. In one ruling in June that upended longstanding precedents, the justices expanded the power of state governments over tribal nations.The 5-4 ruling, which allows states to charge non-Indians for crimes committed against Indians on tribal land, stunned experts on Native American law and weakened a major decision from just two years before that had established the authority of tribal or federal courts on Indian land. (Tribal courts would retain authority over Native Americans who commit crimes on the reservation.)Another case set to be heard by the court this year, challenging a 1978 law giving Native Americans preference in adopting Native children, could be just as unsettling. The law was intended to put an end to policies allowing Native children to be forcibly taken from their homes and placed by child welfare agencies in non-Native homes.Plaintiffs, including the State of Texas, argue that the law created a system illegally based on race. But many tribal nations, including the Cherokees, have lined up against the challenge.New measures at the state level are also flaring tempers, including an Oklahoma law banning schools from teaching material that could cause students discomfort or psychological stress because of their race.Fourth graders studying at the Cherokee Immersion School. A lawsuit by teachers and civil rights advocates says that an Oklahoma law could limit the teaching of Native American history.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesChuck Hoskin Jr., principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, center, said it was “time to insist the United States keep its word” and seat a Cherokee delegate to Congress.Joseph Rushmore for The New York TimesGov. Kevin Stitt signed the law as part of a wave of legislation against “critical race theory,” a phrase used by conservative leaders to describe what they see as efforts to infiltrate classrooms with lessons about structural racism.A lawsuit by teachers and civil rights advocates warned that the law could silence classroom discussion about subjects like the Trail of Tears. And a high school English teacher in the town of Dewey, Okla., recently said she would stop teaching “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the best-selling book by David Grann about the murders of wealthy Osage people in the 1920s.Because the Osage were targeted for their race, the teacher told The Oklahoman that she was afraid of losing her license under the new law.Whitney Red Corn, a director of an early learning center and member of the Osage Nation Congress, said the law felt like “pushback” at a time when tribal nations were exercising rights. “It’s heartbreaking for me that something from our history could be avoided because it’s hard to hear,” said Ms. Red Corn, who took part in an Osage vote calling for the repeal of the law.One of the most bitter disputes of the moment involves Oklahoma’s largest tribes and Governor Stitt, a mortgage banker. After taking office, the governor proposed sharp increases in the fees that the tribes pay to operate more than 100 casinos around the state, prompting backlash.Mr. Hoskin, the Cherokee chief, said he expected a different approach from Mr. Stitt as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. (The New York Times and High Country News previously reported on claims that his citizenship may have been fraudulently obtained by an ancestor, which Mr. Stitt has called “unsubstantiated slander.”)Mr. Stitt has clashed repeatedly with Oklahoma’s tribes. In June, he celebrated the Supreme Court ruling diluting the authority of tribal nations. Donelle Harder, a spokeswoman for Mr. Stitt, declined to say directly whether he supported or objected to the efforts to seat a Cherokee delegate.Regarding Mr. Stitt’s relations with tribal nations, Ms. Harder said, “Governor Stitt has worked to create more fair opportunities for all sovereign nations and all people who call Oklahoma home.”Five of Oklahoma’s largest tribes have publicly endorsed Mr. Stitt’s rival, Joy Hofmeister, a former Republican who switched parties last year. Recent polls in the heavily Republican state have shown the race in a dead heat.Mr. Hoskin called the clash with Mr. Stitt a crucial factor in the Cherokee efforts to bolster sovereignty: “I think he’s the most anti-Indian tribe governor in the history of this state.”Emily Cochrane More

After five elections in less than four years, Israel will have a stable government for the first time since 2019. But Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition could test the constitutional framework and social fabric.JERUSALEM — Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s opposition leader, was set on Thursday to seal victory in Israel’s general election, putting him on track to return as prime minister at the helm of one of the most right-wing governments in Israeli history.Vote counting was expected to finish on Thursday afternoon, and Mr. Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc is almost guaranteed to score a clear victory, according to near final results published by the electoral authority. That would ensure that Israel, after five elections in less than four years, will have a cohesive government with a steady majority for the first time since 2019.The far right’s strong showing was linked to fears among right-wing Jews about perceived threats to Israel’s Jewish identity and to their personal safety. A wave of interethnic riots in May 2021 unsettled their sense of security, a feeling that was compounded months later by the inclusion — for the first time in Israeli history — of an Arab party in the coalition government.Those dual concerns drove some right-wing Israelis to more extreme parties in the most recent election.Although the coalition led by Mr. Netanyahu would provide a stable government, it would nevertheless unsettle Israel’s constitutional framework and social fabric.Supporters of the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir in the Israeli city of Beit Shemesh last month.Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York TimesCurrently standing trial on corruption charges, Mr. Netanyahu says that he will not use his authority to upend that process. But some of his coalition partners have said they will push to legalize one of the crimes he is accused of committing, or even to end the trial entirely.His return would also test some of Israel’s diplomatic relations, most notably with the United States and with the Persian Gulf states with which Israel recently formed alliances.Mr. Netanyahu himself oversaw the creation of those alliances during his last spell in office. But his new coalition allies’ priorities are likely to heighten tensions with the Palestinians, which could embarrass Israel’s Arab and American partners.These tensions underscore the complexity of Mr. Netanyahu’s return: As Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, he is a known quantity who has defined contemporary Israeli society perhaps more than any other politician. But his decision to ally with the far right, untrammeled by any centrist or leftist forces, takes Israel into the unknown.Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right allies want to weaken and overhaul Israel’s justice system, giving politicians more control of judicial appointments and loosening the Supreme Court’s oversight of parliamentary process. Those allies could make such policies a condition of their joining his coalition.They also want to end Palestinian autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank and have a history of antagonizing the Palestinian minority within Israel itself, a track record that has raised fears that the new government could exacerbate Jewish-Arab tensions in Israel and curb any remaining hope of an end to the occupation.A separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem in April. Mr. Netanyahu’s far-right allies want to end Palestinian autonomy in parts of the occupied West Bank.Samar Hazboun for The New York TimesMr. Netanyahu may not formally return to power until the second half of November. State protocols mean that the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, has until Nov. 16 to invite Mr. Netanyahu to assemble a government, and Mr. Netanyahu’s own coalition negotiations might take even longer.Foreign-policy experts predict that Mr. Netanyahu, once back in office, will be forced to tread an awkward path between mollifying hard-line allies at home while avoiding confrontations with international partners that support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The State Department has already hinted that the Biden administration has reservations about Mr. Netanyahu’s likely coalition partners.“We hope that all Israeli government officials will continue to share the values of an open, democratic society, including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups,” said the department’s spokesman, Ned Price, when asked about the election result on Wednesday.Aaron David Miller, a former senior official at the State Department, said that Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu would try to avoid conflict because they have other, more pressing priorities.But, Mr. Miller said, “At a minimum, Biden and Netanyahu will likely annoy the hell out of one another.”“The unprecedented character of the new Israeli government, the most right-wing in Israel’s history, will — to say the least — sharpen the differences,” he added.Mr. Netanyahu was the primary architect of the landmark diplomatic relationships that Israel forged in 2020 with Bahrain, Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, and re-election is not expected to upend those new ties, even if it presents them with new challenges.Mr. Netanyahu, seated second from left, with President Donald J. Trump and officials from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates at the signing of a breakthrough accord at the White House in 2020.Doug Mills/The New York TimesThough none of Israel’s new partners have renounced the Palestinian cause, analysts say that Persian Gulf leaders now consider their own national interests to be a greater immediate priority.“From the perspective of any of the Gulf states, normalization is tied to their long-term strategic plans and has little to do with the day-to-day of Israeli politics,” said Elham Fakhro, a research fellow at the Center for Gulf Studies at Exeter University in England. “The same way as U.S. presidents come and go, they see any relationship with Israel as transcending short-term political dynamics,” she added.Just as he went along with the Oslo accords in the 1990s, after criticizing them while in opposition, Mr. Netanyahu is also expected to stick to a recent maritime deal with Lebanon that he condemned when it was negotiated.But his election may make it harder to formalize ties between Israel and the most influential Arab country, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi government recently made small diplomatic gestures to Israel, like allowing Israeli planes to fly through its airspace, but said it would not agree to full diplomatic relations until the creation of a Palestinian state.“It is unlikely that there will be traction on the Saudi-Israeli diplomatic relationship,” Dr. Fakhro said. In exchange for normalizing ties, she added, Saudi Arabia “would expect something major in return. Netanyahu’s approach — by definition — rejects the possibility of major concessions.”In Israel, Mr. Netanyahu’s opponents fear that his return will empower the more extreme figures in his coalition. One of them, Bezalel Smotrich, wants to be defense minister; another, Itamar Ben-Gvir, wants to oversee the police force.Itamar Ben-Gvir, left, and Bezalel Smotrich taking part in a march near Jerusalem’s Old City in 2021. They are among the more extreme figures in Mr. Netanyahu’s likely coalition.Emmanuel Dunand/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesUntil 2020, Mr. Ben-Gvir hung a portrait in his home of an Israeli settler who shot dead 29 Palestinians in a West Bank mosque in 1994. As a teenager, Mr. Ben-Gvir was barred from army service because he was considered too extremist. He also describes a hard-line rabbi who wanted to strip Arab Israelis of their citizenship as his “hero.”Mr. Netanyahu attempted to calm fears about his return this week, promising in a speech on Wednesday morning that he would lead “a national government that will look after everyone.”He also pledged to heal the divisions within Israeli society, adding that the country “respects all its citizens.”But many in Israel’s Palestinian minority, which forms roughly a fifth of the population, remained unconvinced and afraid.“These are difficult days,” said Aida Touma-Suleiman, a Palestinian lawmaker in the Israeli Parliament. “This isn’t the ordinary, classic right that we know. This is a change — in which a racist, violent right-wing threatens to turn into fascism.”Myra Noveck More

The automatic cost of living increase that Social Security beneficiaries are receiving is a result of soaring inflation, not a policy achievement enacted by President Biden.WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday deleted a widely mocked Twitter post that misleadingly attributed a recent increase in Social Security payments to older Americans to “President Biden’s leadership.”The tweet, which had been posted on Tuesday, was removed without explanation a day later after it had been skewered by critics and contradicted by a new Twitter feature that allows users to fact-check erroneous assertions. The automatic 8.7 percent cost of living increase that Social Security beneficiaries are receiving is a result of inflation running at a four-decade high, not a policy achievement enacted by Mr. Biden.When asked on Wednesday about the removal of the tweet, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, suggested that it had lacked sufficient context.“Look, the tweet was not complete,” she said. “Usually when we put out a tweet, we post it with context, and it did not have that context.”Ms. Jean-Pierre went on to say that Medicare premiums are decreasing even as Social Security payments go up, suggesting that such information would have rounded out the original Twitter post.“That’s a little bit of context that was not included,” she said. “This means that seniors will have a chance to get ahead of inflation due to the rare combination of rising benefits and falling premiums.”In the final days before the midterm elections next week, Mr. Biden has repeatedly criticized Republicans for proposals that could scale back social safety net programs. He has insisted that he and the Democrats would protect and bolster Social Security and Medicare.The tweet that the White House deleted echoed a remark that the president made this week during a speech in Florida, when he declared, “On my watch, for the first time in 10 years, seniors are getting an increase in their Social Security checks.”When pressed about the similar sentiments, Ms. Jean-Pierre suggested that Mr. Biden was not trying to take credit for the cost of living increase.“We believe that we — we want to lay the — we want to lay our argument out fully,” Ms. Jean-Pierre said. “And that was important to do, as we put out, you know, information like that or as we put out a tweet.”She added: “And that was an incomplete tweet.” More

NORTH LAS VEGAS, Nev. — As Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada took the stage at a high school here this week, she was fighting for her political life.Her re-election bid is seen by many as the tightest Senate race in the country. Republicans are throwing money and energy behind her challenger, Adam Laxalt, a political scion who, like Ms. Cortez Masto, is a former Nevada attorney general.Neither candidate could be called an electric campaigner, and Ms. Cortez Masto had a difficult slot that evening: shortly after John Legend and right before Barack Obama.After the appearance by Mr. Legend — who recently wrapped up a Las Vegas residency and played a couple of songs on a piano for an adoring audience — Ms. Cortez Masto spoke about how her grandfather was “a baker from Chihuahua” and how, before her, “there had never been a Latina elected to the U.S. Senate.”Her biographical bullet points were politely received. Then Mr. Obama took the stage and offered a reminder that his party has still not found a successor to match his charisma.To raucous applause, he hammered home Ms. Cortez Masto’s personal history in his inimitable cadences: “Third-generation Nevadan. Grew up here in Vegas. Dad started out parking cars at the Dunes,” he said, referring to a defunct casino where Ms. Cortez Masto’s father once worked. “She knows what it’s like to struggle and work hard.”Democrats are sending star figures to Nevada as both parties pour money into a political fight that could decide the balance of power in the Senate. The race was the most expensive political contest in Nevada history even before an $80 million splurge over the last month brought total ad spending to $176 million, according to AdImpact, a media-tracking firm. A recent New York Times/Siena College poll showed the candidates deadlocked at 47 percent each; Mr. Laxalt had a comfortable lead among men, while Ms. Cortez Masto was likewise leading among women.Mr. Laxalt, a son and grandson of Nevada senators, held a rally in Las Vegas late last month with former Representative Tulsi Gabbard. Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesMs. Cortez Masto and her allies have sought to focus on abortion rights, attacking Mr. Laxalt over the issue.Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesAnd increasingly, the campaign seems to be one of economics versus abortion.Democrats are battering Mr. Laxalt over his anti-abortion stance, after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Nevada allows abortion up to 24 weeks, and after that in cases where the mother’s health is at risk. Mr. Laxalt has said he would support banning abortions in the state after 13 weeks, or the first trimester.One commercial broadcast Tuesday morning, paid for by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, featured a Nevada woman assailing his abortion position, saying: “I take it incredibly personally that Adam Laxalt is working to take away the rights of my daughters.” Another spot, from the Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC, includes audio of Mr. Laxalt saying during a breakfast with pastors that “Roe v. Wade was always a joke.”The State of the 2022 Midterm ElectionsElection Day is Tuesday, Nov. 8.Governor’s Races: Democrats and Republicans are heading into the final stretch of more than a dozen competitive contests for governor. Some battleground races could also determine who controls the Senate.Democrats’ Mounting Anxiety: Top Democratic officials are openly second-guessing their party’s pitch and tactics, saying Democrats have failed to unite around one central message.Social Security and Medicare: Republicans, eyeing a midterms victory, are floating changes to the safety net programs. Democrats have seized on the proposals to galvanize voters.Debunking Misinformation: Falsehoods and rumors are flourishing ahead of Election Day, especially in Pennsylvania. We debunked five of the most widespread voting-related claims.Ms. Cortez Masto returned to the topic on Tuesday night: “We know we can’t trust Laxalt when it comes to a woman’s right to choose,” she told the crowd. “This is a man who called Roe vs. Wade a joke, and he celebrated when it was overturned.”So often has Mr. Laxalt been attacked on abortion that he felt compelled to write an opinion column in The Reno Gazette-Journal in August “setting the record straight” on his position. He explained that when he said Roe was “a joke,” it was “a shorthand way of saying that the decision had no basis in the text of the Constitution.”Republican groups and the Laxalt campaign are generally focusing on the economy. Nevada has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and some of the highest gas prices, and a tourism-driven economy that was hit hard by the pandemic.“Inflation isn’t going away,” a narrator says in a Laxalt commercial running this week. “Gas and groceries are too expensive.” Another pro-Laxalt ad features a picture of Ms. Cortez Masto superimposed next to Speaker Nancy Pelosi as both are showered in cash. The spot, from the Senate Leadership Fund — the political action committee of Senate Republicans — makes the case that “Costly Catherine” is a high-spending Democrat.Mr. Laxalt and Ms. Gabbard at the rally in Las Vegas. He and his Republican allies have tried to put the spotlight on economic issues. Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesRory McShane, a Republican political consultant who is working on other races in the state, believes the current dynamic favors Republicans.“You see in the polling that the economy is trumping abortion,” he said in an interview. “I don’t think anything’s stronger than the economy,” he added. “You don’t have to run TV ads to tell people how bad the economy is.”Kenneth Miller, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said the Democratic strategy “poses a risk.”“Abortion is very important to a big segment of the electorate, but that also means there are large segments of the electorate that don’t particularly care about abortion either way,” he said. “They may have a pro-choice or pro-life position, but it’s not what drives them to make their vote choice or drives them to turn out.”Mr. Laxalt’s saber-rattling on the economy, however, has plenty of skeptics. Nevada’s largest union, the 60,000-strong Culinary Workers, has sent members — cooks, cleaners, food servers — door to door to make the case for Ms. Cortez Masto and other Democratic candidates. More than half of the union’s members are Latinos, a group Mr. Laxalt has courted in Spanish-language commercials.Ted Pappageorge, the union’s secretary-treasurer, said in an interview that Ms. Cortez Masto had been an important ally on pocketbook concerns for union members, including expanding health benefits for workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic.“In 2020, we knocked on 650,000 doors statewide, and that was in the middle of Covid,” he said. “This year, in a midterm, we’re going to hit a million doors, and if we hit those doors, we’re going to win.”Few dispute the importance of the contest.“This race is the 51st seat,” Mr. Laxalt said this summer. “The entire U.S. Senate will hinge on this race.” He was speaking at the Basque Fry, a Republican event started by his grandfather, former Senator Paul Laxalt, whose family hailed from the Basque region straddling France and Spain. Mr. Laxalt is also the son of another former senator, Pete Domenici.Mr. Laxalt has been a divisive politician. He parroted Donald J. Trump’s false claims of widespread election fraud when he served as the chairman of the former president’s 2020 campaign in Nevada. When he was attorney general, he was caught on a secret recording in which he pressured state gambling regulators on behalf of a major donor, Sheldon Adelson.And Mr. Laxalt’s bid to follow his forebears into the Senate has been fractious. Fourteen of his relatives have come out against him and thrown their support to Ms. Cortez Masto, calling her in a joint statement “a model of the ‘Nevada grit’ that we so often use to describe our Nevada forefathers.”Former President Barack Obama campaigned on Tuesday in Las Vegas for Nevada Democrats. “She knows what it’s like to struggle and work hard,” he said of Ms. Cortez Masto.Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times“The entire U.S. Senate will hinge on this race,” Mr. Laxalt said this summer. Haiyun Jiang/The New York TimesMr. Obama seized on the episode in his remarks on Tuesday night. “We all might have a crazy uncle, the kind who goes off the rails, but if you’ve got a full Thanksgiving dinner table, and they’re all saying you don’t belong in the U.S. Senate?” he said. “When the people who know you the best think your opponent would do a better job, that says something about you.”In his own closing argument, Mr. Laxalt, who served in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the Navy, has tried to link Ms. Cortez Masto to President Biden, who polls show is unpopular in the state.“Her record is, she supported Joe Biden every step of the way,” he said at a recent campaign stop, according to Roll Call. “That’s why she doesn’t want Joe Biden to come here, because then she’s going to have to actually stand next to him and stand next to her voting record.”Ms. Cortez Masto is a protégé of Harry Reid, the former Senate majority leader who built a formidable political machine in the state and died last year. “She’s a workhorse, not a show horse,” Mr. Miller said, adding that in a typical year, a moderate like her “should be able to win a race like this by five points, but national conditions are a serious headwind.”Abortion has certainly not been her only issue. She has depicted Mr. Laxalt as a child of privilege in a “Succession”-style video and has put out commercials accusing him of being captive to big oil companies, in part because as state attorney general, he worked to thwart an investigation into Exxon Mobil over its climate policies.But abortion has been the most constant weapon for her and her surrogates.“Catherine’s opponent calls Roe vs. Wade a joke, and the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe a historic victory,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday. “That may not be how most women in Nevada saw it.” More

Los empleados de la hostelería tienen particular influencia en Nevada, donde el poderoso sindicato culinario de Las Vegas está convocando a sus integrantes para que ayuden a definir las contiendas reñidas.LAS VEGAS — Carlos Padilla caminaba hacia su camioneta pick-up y cargaba un bolso lleno de materiales de campaña y una agenda para moldear el futuro de Estados Unidos. Faltaban veinte días para las elecciones de medio mandato y Padilla, un chef pastelero, se dirigía a la sede de la Unión de Trabajadores Culinarios Local 226.La reunión a la que acababa de asistir había sido mitad sesión de negocios, mitad mitin político. Hubo consignas enérgicas (“¡Dos, dos, seis!”, “Si votamos, ¡ganamos!”) y discursos de políticos que pedían el apoyo de los 400 meseros, cocineros, garroteros y encargados de limpieza que estaban reunidos. Al igual que Padilla, todos pasaron el resto del día tocando las puertas de los votantes en una ciudad que desde hace tiempo ha sido un eje electoral en este estado pendular y en otros lugares.Incluso en el mundo de la mano de obra organizada, los trabajadores de la hospitalidad nunca han sido una gran fuerza. Sin embargo, las visitas de campaña a la sede del sindicato por parte de candidatos presidenciales (Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden) a lo largo de los años dan fe de la identidad inusual de este local que se caracteriza por el poder político.La fuente de ese poder son los 60.000 miembros del sindicato, quienes trabajan en los restaurantes, bares, casinos y hoteles que impulsan la economía de Las Vegas y Reno, ciudades en Nevada. Gracias a los contratos negociados por el sindicato, disfrutan de una seguridad laboral y estabilidad financiera que son poco comunes en la industria de la hospitalidad. Los salarios de los miembros promedian los 26 dólares por hora, según representantes del sindicato, y reciben aumentos cada año. Los empleos cuentan con prestaciones como seguro de salud, capacitación gratuita para avanzar en sus carreras e incluso ayuda para hacer el pago del enganche de una casa.Carlos Padilla, miembro del sindicato Unión de Trabajadores Culinarios Local 226, hacía campaña de puerta a puerta en Las Vegas, en octubre.Saeed Rahbaran para The New York TimesPadilla, de 53 años, está entre los cientos de miembros que toman días libres pagados (otro beneficio contractual) para hacer campaña a favor de los candidatos que el sindicato apoya.“Soy miembro del sindicato desde hace 29 años. He hecho cualquier cosa que me han pedido para ayudar”, comentó.El sindicato local (cuyos miembros a menudo lo llaman solo la Culinaria o 226) no siempre se ha impuesto en las contiendas del estado pendular, o swing state, que es el nombre que reciben los estados en disputa. Sin embargo, la diversidad de sus miembros incluye distritos electorales que los profesionales de la política creen que tienen acceso al poder. Alrededor del 55 por ciento de los miembros son mujeres y el 45 por ciento son inmigrantes. El miembro promedio es una mujer latina de 44 años.Otra gran ventaja es su experiencia en las campañas puerta a puerta. El ejército de trabajadores de la hospitalidad que pertenecen al sindicato ya ha tocado más de 750.000 puertas durante esta temporada de campaña, según los líderes sindicales, quienes creen que pueden influir en la elección a favor de los candidatos en gran medida demócratas que apoyan. Muchos candidatos luchan por su supervivencia política, la más notable es la senadora Catherine Cortez Masto, quien está en una cerrada contienda contra el aspirante republicano Adam Laxalt que podría determinar qué partido controla el Senado.Al preguntarles sobre cómo contrarrestarían la capacidad del sindicato de cambiar la decisión de los votantes, los representantes de la campaña de Laxalt respondieron con un comunicado en el que el candidato culpa a los demócratas de la inflación y los altos precios de la gasolina. “Lucharé por impuestos más bajos”, decía el documento “y lucharé contra los cierres del gobierno y los mandatos que dejan sin empleo a los trabajadores”.Una excepción a la inclinación del sindicato hacia los demócratas fue su respaldo a Brian Sandoval, un republicano, en su campaña de reelección de 2014 por la gubernatura. Sandoval no estuvo de acuerdo con su partido en temas importantes para el sindicato, tales como la reforma migratoria y la Ley de Atención Médica Asequible.Ningún republicano en la legislatura estatal votó por dos proyectos de ley recientes respaldados por el sindicato y relacionados con la pandemia: uno que brinda protecciones en el lugar de trabajo para trabajadores de la industria de la hospitalidad y otro que garantiza su derecho a regresar a sus antiguos trabajos.Barack Obama en la sala del sindicato previo a los caucus presidenciales demócratas de Nevada en 2008, durante su primera campaña electoral a la Casa Blanca. El sindicato lo apoyó. Ozier Muhammad para The New York TimesFundado en 1935, el sindicato se afianzó al reclutar trabajadores de otros lugares para que trabajaran en la desértica y pujante ciudad. Sus filas crecieron junto con la industria del juego de Nevada, y no siempre de forma armónica. Una huelga, que inició en 1991 en el hotel casino Frontier, duró más de seis años.Jim Manley, consultor político que fue ayudante del exsenador Harry Reid, dijo que en 2008 el sindicato se volvió imprescindible al ayudar a Obama a vencer a John McCain por 12 puntos porcentuales en Nevada, a pesar de que McCain era originario del vecino estado de Arizona.Hoy, la industria de la hospitalidad es el principal generador privado de empleos y los miembros del sindicato están enraizados en la estructura de poder del estado. Jacky Rosen, la senadora júnior de Nevada, fue miembro del sindicato y mesera en Caesar’s Palace.Las elecciones de la próxima semana serán las primeras desde la muerte de Reid. Fallecido en diciembre pasado, Reid era un político aguerrido cuya relación cercana con el sindicato resultó mutuamente beneficiosa. “La duda es si la maquinaria de Reid es tan efectiva como lo fue en el pasado”, dijo Manley.Jon Ralston, un periodista veterano de Nevada especializado en política, opinó que, para ganar una elección de medio mandato que parece favorecer a los republicanos, los demócratas de Nevada necesitan que el sindicato aumente la cantidad de votantes demócratas que acudirán a las urnas en el condado de Clark, que incluye a Las Vegas.“Es así de sencillo”, escribió en un mensaje de texto y agregó que el sindicato “tiene los recursos humanos y la experiencia para hacerlo”.Padilla comenzó como chef pastelero en Treasure Island, un casino y hotel, hace casi 30 años, tras mudarse a Las Vegas desde Flagstaff, Arizona. Empezó a interesarse en el trabajo del sindicato cuando su cuñado, un trabajador siderúrgico, lo llevó a un mitin. “Resultó que era la Culinaria la que organizaba el mitin”, dijo. “Estaba impresionado”En los últimos dos años, Padilla ha pasado más tiempo realizando campañas de puerta en puerta que horneando pan o pastelitos. En la antesala de las elecciones de 2020, cuando lo despidieron de su trabajo debido a los cierres por la pandemia, el sindicato le pagó para que hiciera campaña puerta a puerta.Luego se mudó temporalmente a Georgia, donde se unió a otros trabajadores que ayudaron a que Raphael Warnock ganara la segunda vuelta que le dio a los demócratas la mayoría de un voto en el Senado. (Los funcionarios sindicales dijeron que los encuestadores probablemente regresarían a Georgia si la campaña por el Senado llega a una segunda vuelta).La congresista Susie Lee, que está en una reñida contienda por la reelección, se dirigió a los integrantes del sindicato en una visita reciente a su sede. La presentó la senadora Jackie Rosen, de rojo, quien fue mesera y miembro del sindicato.Saeed Rahbaran para The New York Times“La gente a la que elegimos es la gente que nos ayudó a mantener el seguro de salud y las prestaciones de desempleo durante la covid”, dijo Padilla. “Ayudamos a la gente que nos ayuda”.Tenía un mensaje parecido para los votantes en octubre, cuando recorría un barrio de clase obrera en la zona norte de la ciudad. Era en el distrito del Representante Steven Horsford, quien fue líder de la Academia Culinaria de Las Vegas, una escuela para trabajadores de la industria que opera el sindicato.Una votante, Deborah Gallacher, le dijo a Padilla que no sabía si votaría este año pero que Horsford “ha tocado a mi puerta. He votado por él siempre que ha estado en la boleta”.Padilla le respondió, “es momento de volver a hacerlo”.Iba con Rocio Leonardo, de 30 años, trabajadora del Resort y Casino Aria. Leonardo, que de niña se mudó de Guatemala a Las Vegas, también hizo campaña en 2020, aunque no es ciudadana y no puede votar. “Hago esto porque siento que es algo positivo para mis hijos”, dijo.Leonardo se aproximó a una casa que tenía banderas de la Infantería de Marina colgando de la puerta de la cochera. Tocó dos veces la puerta, mientras unos perros ladraban de manera inquietante. La mujer que al final salió a la puerta estaba en una llamada telefónica y lucía molesta, hasta que vio la camiseta del sindicato de Leonardo.“Yo también soy Culinaria”, dijo. “Tienen mi voto”.Mientras se alejaba, Leonardo marcó que la mujer “no estaba en casa” en la base de datos de votantes de su teléfono inteligente con el fin de que un trabajador de la campaña regresara para asegurarse de que vote.Esa perseverancia, aunque es tediosa, ha tenido resultados.Padilla en campaña puerta a puerta con Rocio Leonardo, una trabajadora de Guatemala que no puede votar. “Hago esto porque siento que es algo positivo para mis hijos”.Saeed Rahbaran para The New York TimesTed Pappageorge, el secretario-tesorero del sindicato, indicó que elegir aliados para cargos públicos fortalece la posición del sindicato cuando negocia en nombre de sus miembros. “No hacemos cosas sindicales para poder ganar en la política. Hacemos política para poder ganar en contratos sindicales”.Pappageorge expresó que el sindicato está especialmente motivado en este ciclo electoral, ya que los contratos de cinco años con empleadores de la gran mayoría de sus miembros en Las Vegas concluirán el año próximo. “Vamos a tener negociaciones realmente difíciles”, afirmó. “Creemos que podríamos tener huelgas”.El sindicato también está presionando a los políticos locales para que apoyen un programa que busca combatir el rápido ascenso de los costos de las viviendas. Leonardo señaló que el año pasado los caseros aumentaron la renta mensual de la casa que comparte con su esposo y cuatro hijos de 900 a 1400 dólares.“Pensé que era un error”, dijo.Padilla, que tiene tres hijos, comenta los costos de vivienda con todos los votantes que puede. Dice que cuando sus caseros aumentaron el precio del alquiler en 400 dólares, le dijeron: “No hay ninguna ley en Nevada que indique que no podemos aumentar la renta tanto como lo deseemos”.Durante un breve descanso en la campaña puerta a puerta, Padilla comenzó a reflexionar. “Por eso, me tomo esta elección muy en serio”, aseveró. “Siempre hay una lucha”.Brett Anderson empezó a colaborar con la sección Food en julio de 2019. Fue crítico de restaurantes y redactor de reportajes en The Times-Picayune, en Nueva Orléans, de 2000 a 2019. Ha ganado tres premios James Beard, entre ellos el Premio Jonathan Gold a la Voz Local y en 2017 fue nombrado reportero del año de Eater por su cobertura del acoso sexual en la industria de los restaurantes. @BrettEats More

Election Day isn’t until next week, but the voting has already begun in much of the country.Most states allow early voting, also known as pre-election voting, which surged in popularity during the 2020 election in response to the coronavirus pandemic. And interest remains high: As of Wednesday afternoon, nearly 30 million early ballots had been cast nationwide, according to data from the United States Elections Project. In Georgia, in-person turnout was up 70 percent in the first five days of early voting compared with the 2018 midterm elections, according to the secretary of state’s office.The rules vary by state, but there are a few different ways to vote early: Head to a polling place to fill out a ballot in person; drop off a completed ballot at a secure drop box, usually by a polling site or government building; or vote by mail before Election Day.Drop off a completed ballot at a drop box in Mesa, Ariz. on Friday.Rebecca Noble for The New York TimesCheck your secretary of state’s website for details on your state’s early voting policies.Alabama, Connecticut, Mississippi, and New Hampshire do not offer pre-election voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.As widespread as early voting is, it has recently come under attack by critics who complain about the potential for voter fraud, which is exceedingly rare. On Tuesday, a federal judge in Arizona cracked down on an election-monitoring group staking out ballot boxes in Maricopa County. Members of the group, who cast themselves as “mule watchers” preventing fraud, were issued a temporary restraining order after complaints that they were intimidating and harassing voters. The individuals, some of whom were armed, had gathered around outdoor ballot boxes to take pictures of voters and, in some cases, posted the images online.The A.C.L.U. said on Tuesday that it was investigating at least three separate reports of people monitoring ballot drop boxes in Chester County, Pa., which includes the Main Line suburbs west of Philadelphia. None appeared armed, the group said. More

Joe Biden has warned Americans against condoning ‘political violence’ as the midterm elections approach, raising the alarm about the threats to US democracy. ‘We don’t settle our differences in America with a riot, a mob or a bullet, or a hammer. We settle them peaceably at the ballot box,’ the president said during a prime time address on Wednesday. ‘It’s within our power, each and every one of us to preserve our democracy. And I believe we will,’ he added.
Biden’s speech came after an attack on House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, at their home. 

Biden urges Americans to take a stand against political violence: ‘We’re facing a defining moment’ More