Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is running from the influence of unpopular Joe Biden. The President is a bit too radioactive for Masto to bring to the state for a campaign rally. Election Day is less than a week away, the embattled senator is turning to another somewhat high-profile name to stump for her: the drummer from pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
Daniel Platzman joined Masto at an event last week at downtown Las Vegas’s ReBar. Platzman told the local NBC outlet that it was “very exciting” to appear alongside the senator. Masto is embroiled in a high-profile reelection bid against Republican Adam Laxalt. The Senator did not appear in the local outlet’s coverage of the event.
The event that supported Masto comes just days after the incumbent refused to say whether she would campaign with Biden. Asked by ABC’s Rachel Scott if she would “campaign with President Biden” during a Good Morning America segment, the Senator gave a non-answer. She said that while Biden is “welcome” in her state, her “focus is on getting out and talking to Nevadans.”
Biden’s political standing in the Silver State is considerably diminished. Just 39 percent of Nevadans approve of Biden’s job as president. This is in comparison with 53 percent who disapprove, according to the latest report from Civiqs.
Imagine Dragons may not have been the best choice to campaign with the intention of garnering a popular vote. The band has faced intense criticism for its turn to repetitive, pop-oriented, platitude-filled tracks.
A total letdown after the band’s award-winning 2012 debut studio album, Night Visions, was so widely received for its alternative rock-pop vibe. Just one example of the band’s criticism was in 2019, music publication Spin published an Imagine Dragons takedown under the headline, “Is Imagine Dragons The Worst Band Ever?”
“Imagine Dragons’ music is aggressively unpleasant, and it’s only natural to grasp for something even louder to distract oneself,” the Spin piece claimed. “Imagine Dragons are somewhere far beyond terrible. … The lyrics, a composite of motivational platitudes and pseudo-dramatic yelps, barely merit repeating.”
Masto must be hoping that the event with Platzman reverses a string of bad polls and carries her over the line in her race against Laxalt. According to an October Trafalgar Group survey, the Republican leads Masto by 4 points.
