By Brakkton Booker

With help from Ella Creamer, Rishika Dugyala, Charlie Mahtesian and Jesse Naranjo 

POLITICO illustration/Photo courtesy of Nevada Democratic Party

What up, Recast family! President Biden requests Congress deliver $106 billion in aid to boost Israel and Ukraine, help rebuff China’s advancements in the Indo-Pacific and fund the U.S. southern border. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) inches closer to primarying Biden for the Democratic nomination. And Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.) decides not to run for a full term next year. First, we talk with a Democratic leader of a western swing state. 

Daniele Monroe-Moreno says she does not feel pressure ahead of the 2024 campaign cycle, which, for her, gets started in early February.

She’s seven months into her role as Nevada Democratic Party chair after ousting an incumbent who had been a part of an insurgent takeover by the progressive wing of the party.

The result of the internal party Election had Monroe-Moreno winning 314-99, firmly cementing establishment control over the party’s direction.

Monroe-Moreno, who is also a member of the state Assembly, is the first Black woman to serve as state chair. She balks at being considered “establishment,” and says her bigger goal is unifying the party ahead of the presidential primary, which is now second after South Carolina. [Get caught up on the Democratic calendar drama with the New Hampshire primary.]

Her predecessor, Judith Whitmer, fell out of favor with Nevada Democrats, including among progressives who helped usher her into power, even thought Democrats overall performed well in the state in recent election cycles — though by razor-thin margins.

The year before Whitmer was chair, Biden won there in 2020 by 2.7 percentage points. After she took over, the party had mixed results in last year’s midterms, with Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto winning by 0.9 points over Republican Adam Laxalt — a race that helped Democrats in the U.S. Senate maintain control. That same election saw incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak defeated by current Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. The margin of victory was again close — 1.4 percentage points.

Sisolak’s loss no doubt convinced Nevada Democrats to seek new leadership.

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I spoke with Monroe-Moreno, who is a retired North Las Vegas Police Department Corrections Officer, about Vice President Kamala Harris, who made a stop as part of the VP’s “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour.” The tour is aimed at attracting young voters and highlighting the Democrats’ 2024 message of protecting access to banned books, voting rights and promoting gun safety.

We also discuss how Monroe-Moreno plans to keep her Democratic coalition unified heading into next year's elections.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

THE RECAST: As the Democratic Party chair of Nevada, what did it mean for you to have the VP come to your neck of the woods and promote her “Fight for Our Freedoms College Tour” and try to get the base fired up about coming to the polls early next year? How was she received?

MONROE-MORENO: Oh, my goodness, it means a lot.

She's the first-ever woman vice president, first woman of color, and to have her come not just to Las Vegas, but the city of North Las Vegas, which is my city, and to come to a community college … it was so empowering.

She was well received. And she talks about the power of the vote.

When you look at the attacks on democracy in America — I'm a Black woman, whose life started in foster care. I'm still searching for who my birth mother is to tell her thank you for the decision that she made. I'm a Black woman who has biracial children and triracial grandchildren — I didn’t see leaders that we see now when I was growing up other than my mom and aunt who were advocates in their community. As a little girl, I said, “I'm not going to be out there marching for folks when I grow up.” And I became even worse than them because I ran for office [chuckles] because you can only get so much done as an advocate. You got to be the policymaker at the table making the decisions.

Harris, right, participates in a discussion with Annie Gonzalez at the College of Southern Nevada, Oct. 12 in Las Vegas. | White House handout

So [the vice president] talked about why our vote is under attack. And it's because we hold so much power. When we vote, we make change. And no one would be trying to take your vote away if your vote was not important. She also talks about the taking away of rights that I’ve enjoyed all of my life, that my mother enjoyed, that now my daughters and my grandchildren are having taken away. She also talked about gun laws.

My career was in law enforcement. So I am a gun owner, but I'm a trained gun owner that believes in reasonable gun safety laws to keep all of us safe. So that's just a little bit of what she talked about.

THE RECAST: I don't have to tell you that Nevada is a battleground state and elections there tend to be very close. In 2020, Biden won there by less than 3 points. In last year’s midterm elections, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican challenger Adam Laxalt by less than 1 point.

The 2024 elections will be the first statewide elections since you became Democratic chair. How are you preparing when we’re seeing nationally, according to polls, that Democratic voters aren’t as energized about next year’s election, and not excited about Biden in particular.

MONROE-MORENO: I think both parties often engage voters when it's election time.

It's important for me, it's important for the state, it’s important for this party that we're engaging voters 24/7. And we've had some amazing state party leaders.

Cortez Masto takes the stage during a news conference celebrating her U.S. Senate race win, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in Las Vegas. | Ellen Schmidt/AP

I don't want to say anything bad about anyone that came before me, but I think we used to work from one election and then started working again [right before] the next election.

I was elected in March as a state party chair and we had to come up with a robust campaign strategy that keeps us engaged year-round. We've done it in the past. We kind of got away from it over the last few years. I think that could have been why the race by [Cortez Masto] was so close — but we're back.

And I'm not just trying to get Democrats to vote for us. When I go out, I’m telling you, I talk to everyone, because as an official I represent everyone. You may not have voted for me — and shame on you, because I'm amazing [chuckles] — but my job is to represent everyone.

THE RECAST: You alluded to not wanting to look backward as far as how the party was structured before you took over. That made quite a bit of news — not just because you were the first Black woman to lead the party — but because there was this push and pull within the party about the direction it was heading.

You’ve been described as someone who is part of the establishment wing of the Democratic Party, but do you feel like those divisions are still present with some on the far left?

MONROE-MORENO: I would love to say that a Democratic Party is 100 percent together, but we're a family. And in every family, there are going to be some people that may not agree.

I have been able to bring people who left the party structure come back into the party and work with me. Do I have everyone back? No. And I know that I will not. I get that.

But they know that they have a leader that puts their best interests first and puts the best interests of the state first. And if they want to call me part of the establishment, that's fine. It's kind of strange, but that's fine.

But what they have is a strong leader that believes that every voice should be heard. And no one will be silenced.

THE RECAST: So if Democratic candidates on the 2024 ballot aren’t successful and underperform compared to how they’ve done in recent election cycles like they were under the previous leadership of the Nevada Democrats, will that increase pressure on you and your hold on your position?

MONROE-MORENO: No.

THE RECAST: No? You don’t feel any pressure?

MONROE-MORENO: You know what, I feel empowered.

I never take on anything without praying about it. And I have been a leader in the Assembly Democratic Caucus for the last three terms. It was the work of the coordinated campaign and the work of our Assembly and our Senate caucus that got those Democrats elected.

I would love to say that the prior leadership of our state party was very active in that, but I was the candidate that didn’t have a party chair who was out knocking doors for our members and for our candidates.

A poll worker lays out "I Voted" stickers at a polling place June 14, 2022, in Las Vegas. | John Locher/AP

So no, I don't feel the pressure because I know who actually did the work. And the people that did the work are still there. They're growing and their teams are still there. So do I feel pressure to keep the supermajority in the Assembly? Yeah. And I’ve got to get the supermajority in the Senate. And I’ve to find the best candidates to run.

But it's working in our Hispanic communities, our AAPI communities, our African immigrant communities and our Black communities working — and letting them know they have a leader that's there for them. Not to work against them.

THE RECAST: For next year’s elections, you guys in Nevada are early — in the No. 2 slot — the Feb. 6 date is coming up rather quickly. It really means that Nevada gets to influence how strong Biden appears early on in the Democratic primary next year.

MONROE-MORENO: When you look at Nevada and the great diversity of this state, we're a microcosm of who America is. So being the first in the West and being able to show off and show out for the Biden-Harris ticket — that’s what we’re going to do. It’s going to be a great story!

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The fire hydrant of news is not shutting off anytime soon. So get some rest this weekend and we’ll see you next week. For now, some quick pops and weekend pick-me-ups. 

California's newest senator announced she will not be seeking election to a full term next year. | Stephanie Scarbrough/AP

Butler Bows Out — The nation’s newest senator ended the incessant will-she-or-won’t-she speculation on whether she would seek a full six-year term. POLITICO’s Melanie Mason reports on why she opted out.

In Other 2024 Senate News —  Maryland becomes a two-horse race after longshot Democratic candidate Will Jawando bows out of the race. Your favorite Recast author reports on why this essentially becomes a showdown between two of the state’s rising Democratic stars, Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. David Trone.

How RFK Jr. Could Spoil 2024 — POLITICO’s Brittany Gibson breaks down how the newly independent White House hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could throw a wrench in Biden’s reelection quest… if he can get on the ballot in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

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Maryam Keshavarz’s semi-autobiographical “The Persian Version” follows Iranian American Leila as she strives to embrace her cross-cultural identity in New York City amid family tumult.

Motown pioneer Smokey Robinson brings us an unmissable NPR Tiny Desk concert, moving between the old — a Miracles hit, “The Tears Of A Clown” — and the new, with two tracks from his new record.

Sampha drops an album and a breathtaking visual poem with a blurry, pink-hued, futuristic aesthetic.

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