Catherine Cortez Masto Bio
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto, born on March 29, 1964, in Las Vegas, Nevada, is an American lawyer and politician who has represented Nevada in the United States Senate since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she currently serves as the senior senator from her state and is widely recognized as the first woman and the first Latina elected to represent Nevada in the upper chamber of Congress. Before her Senate career, Cortez Masto served two terms as the 32nd attorney general of Nevada, building a reputation as a tough consumer advocate and prosecutor.
With deep family roots in Las Vegas and a professional background in law and public service, Cortez Masto has built a career focused on consumer protection, health care access, environmental policy, and bipartisan reform. She was narrowly reelected to a second Senate term in 2022, defeating Republican Adam Laxalt in one of the most closely watched races of that election cycle.
Early Life and Background
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, the daughter of Joanna Cortez, née Musso, and Manny Cortez. Her father, a respected attorney, served for many years as the head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and as a member of the Clark County Commission. Manny Cortez, now deceased, maintained a long-standing friendship with Harry Reid, the powerful Democratic senator who would later play a decisive role in his daughter’s political career. Catherine’s father was of Mexican descent, and her mother is of Italian ancestry, a heritage that has shaped her identity as the first Latina elected to the United States Senate.
Her paternal grandfather, Eduardo Cortez, immigrated to Nevada from Chihuahua, Mexico, giving the family multigenerational ties to the American Southwest. Cortez Masto attended Ed W. Clark High School in Las Vegas, where she completed her secondary education before heading north for college. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1986, then returned to the Pacific Northwest to complete her legal education at Gonzaga University School of Law, earning her Juris Doctor in 1990.
Path to US Politics
After graduating from law school, Catherine Marie Cortez Masto was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1990, the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada in 1991, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1994. She launched her legal career as a civil attorney in Las Vegas, practicing for four years before moving to Washington, D.C., where she served for two years as a criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. She also worked as chief of staff to former Nevada Governor Bob Miller, an experience that introduced her to the inner workings of state government.
In November 2003, Cortez Masto was named executive vice chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. Her hiring generated some debate because she was selected directly by the chancellor rather than the board of regents, though the board later voted unanimously to approve her annual salary of $215,000. Her steady rise through state government, combined with her prosecutorial record, positioned her as a leading candidate for statewide office and laid the foundation for her 2006 campaign for Nevada attorney general.
Catherine Cortez Masto Career
Early Career (1990–2006)
During the early phase of her professional life, Catherine Marie Cortez Masto concentrated on building a strong legal foundation. She spent four years as a civil attorney in Las Vegas and two years as a federal criminal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. After returning to Nevada, she joined Governor Bob Miller’s administration as his chief of staff, gaining firsthand experience managing a state executive office. She later transitioned to higher education administration as executive vice chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education.
These formative years combined courtroom training with executive responsibility, preparing her for the demands of statewide office. Her legal work, prosecutorial background, and government service made her a credible candidate when she launched her first run for public office in 2006.
Breakthrough (2006–2016)
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto’s breakthrough came in 2006 when she won election as Nevada’s 32nd attorney general, defeating Republican Don Chairez 59 percent to 36 percent. She was reelected in 2010, beating Republican Travis Barrick 52 percent to 36 percent. As attorney general, she launched investigations into financial misconduct, including a high-profile case against Bank of America over deceptive lending practices, which ended in a $750 million settlement in 2012 for lien reductions and short sales.
She also defended the state of Nevada in the lawsuit Sevcik v. Sandoval, initially upholding the state’s same-sex marriage ban before abandoning the defense after a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Term limits in the Nevada Constitution prevented her from running for attorney general again in 2014, and she declined to enter the gubernatorial race that year. When Senator Harry Reid announced he would not seek reelection in 2016, he endorsed Cortez Masto as his successor, giving her access to the powerful political infrastructure Reid had built across the state.
In the 2016 general election, Cortez Masto faced Republican U.S. Representative Joe Heck in a tight race. She won 47 percent of the vote to Heck’s 45 percent, carrying Clark County by more than 82,000 votes and securing her place in history as the first woman elected to represent Nevada in the Senate and the first Latina elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. She took office on January 3, 2017.
Democratic Era (2017–Present)
Since joining the United States Senate in 2017, Catherine Marie Cortez Masto has served on committees dealing with banking, finance, energy, and Indian affairs, while championing legislation on health care, environmental protection, and gun safety. She co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with Senator Dianne Feinstein to ban bump stocks following the 2017 Las Vegas shooting and has consistently opposed the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, instead supporting the Marketplace Certainty Act to stabilize health insurance markets.
Cortez Masto was a member of the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis, which released a major report in August 2020, and she has worked to expand renewable energy and green jobs in Nevada. She supports reforming the Senate filibuster into a talking filibuster and has aligned with President Joe Biden’s stated position 96 percent of the time during his administration. After her predecessor Dean Heller left the Senate in January 2019, she became Nevada’s senior senator.
She was narrowly reelected in November 2022, defeating Republican Adam Laxalt despite being widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents of that cycle. In the Senate, she has continued to advocate for same-sex marriage rights, reproductive freedom, immigration protections such as the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, and Puerto Rico self-determination legislation, while opposing the use of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository.
Notable Events and Milestones
One of the most defining moments of Catherine Marie Cortez Masto’s Senate career came on January 6, 2021, when she was participating in the certification of the 2020 Electoral College vote. As supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol, she was on the Senate floor preparing to speak when the chamber was breached. She and her colleagues were moved to an undisclosed secure location while Capitol Police secured the building, and she publicly condemned the attack as un-American and unacceptable.
Catherine Cortez Masto Career Wins
Throughout her career in public service, Catherine Marie Cortez Masto has earned a series of electoral victories and policy achievements that span state and federal office. From her first attorney general race in 2006 to her narrow reelection to the U.S. Senate in 2022, she has consistently prevailed in competitive contests.
U.S. Senate Election Highlights
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto first won a U.S. Senate seat in 2016 by defeating Republican Joe Heck, becoming the first woman to represent Nevada in the Senate and the first Latina elected to the chamber. She won 47 percent of the vote to Heck’s 45 percent, fueled by a strong showing in Clark County. In 2022, she secured a second term by narrowly defeating Republican Adam Laxalt, who had served as her successor as attorney general, in one of the cycle’s most closely watched battles.
Other Wins and Achievements
As Nevada attorney general, Cortez Masto won two statewide elections, in 2006 and 2010, and secured a landmark $750 million settlement against Bank of America for deceptive lending practices. In the U.S. Senate, she co-sponsored bipartisan legislation on bump stocks, cannabis banking, and Dreamer home loans, and she played a key role on the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis.
Catherine Cortez Masto Family
Family Background and Political Lineage
Catherine Marie Cortez Masto comes from a politically engaged Las Vegas family. Her father, Manny Cortez, was an attorney, longtime head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, and member of the Clark County Commission. He maintained a close friendship with Senator Harry Reid, who later played a pivotal role in endorsing his daughter for the Senate. Her paternal grandfather, Eduardo Cortez, immigrated to Nevada from Chihuahua, Mexico, while her mother, Joanna, née Musso, is of Italian ancestry.
Personal Life
Cortez Masto lives in Las Vegas with her husband, Paul Masto, a retired United States Secret Service special agent. She is a practicing Roman Catholic. The couple has built their life in the city where Catherine was born and raised, and she has often spoken about the importance of family and community in shaping her approach to public service.