Instead, Obama spent much of his speech talking about Catherine Cortez Masto, a former Nevada attorney general, who is locked in a tight race with Rep. Joseph J. Heck (R), a three-term congressman, to replace Sen. Harry M. Reid (D).

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Trump remains popular in Nevada and was recently endorsed by the Las Vegas Review Journal, the first major newspaper in the United States to back him. Heck, meanwhile, has struggled to balance Trump’s popularity in some parts of the state with his controversial comments. Recently he angered some die-hard Trump supporters by dropping his support for the Republican after a video surfaced showing Trump making sexually aggressive statements.

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In final days of Cortez Masto's Senate campaign, her strategy has been to link Heck to Trump. She has been airing an ad that juxtaposes Trump attacking undocumented immigrants and a disabled journalist with Heck’s previous supportive comments about the Republican. Obama doubled down on Cortez Masto’s strategy, doing everything he could to connect to Trump the congressman who represents the Las Vegas suburbs.

“Now that Trump’s poll numbers have cratered, he is saying I am not supporting him,” Obama said of Heck. “Too late. You don’t get credit for that.”

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He mocked Heck for backing family values throughout his political career, but continuing to back Trump earlier in the campaign when he made denigrating comments about women. Heck pulled his support for Trump after the controversial video of him appeared earlier this month. In the video, Obama described Trump as “bragging about actions that qualify as sexual assault.”

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“What the Heck?” he asked, referring to the congressman.

The crowded responded by chanting, “Heck no!”

Obama briefly sought to link Heck to the Koch brothers, conservative businessmen who have been staunch backers of Republicans nationwide. “They are spending millions of dollars here because they know he is going to do what they want,” Obama said of the Kochs.

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He talked about the need to deliver for Clinton a House and a Senate that would make it easier for her to advance a progressive legislative agenda. “We can elect Hillary and saddle her with a Congress that is a do-nothing, won’t-even-try-to-do-something” group, Obama said. And he lauded Cortez Masto’s record as a prosecutor, working with law enforcement, Republicans and Democrats.

“You can make her the first ever Latina to serve in the United States Senate,” Obama said to cheers.

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But the president returned again and again to ridiculing Trump, citing the Republican’s repeated complaints that the election is rigged. “I got to say, that means he’s losing,” Obama said.

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With a big lead in the polls and plenty of cash on hand, Clinton’s campaign has been steering field staff members to help Democrats win the Senate and pick up seats in the House. Cortez Masto is expected to benefit from Clinton’s attention, organization and effort to turn out the vote.

Obama spoke in front of a giant sign that said “VOTE EARLY,” a reference to the fact that early voting in Nevada began Saturday. He also gave Cortez Masto the moment she wanted in the closing days of the campaign, when she introduced him and he embraced her in an extended hug.