State Sen. Yvanna Cancela speaks during a panel on the rising cost of prescription drugs in the U.S., Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019.
Monday, Aug. 17, 2020 | 2 a.m.
State Sen. Yvanna Cancela first met former Vice President Joe Biden in 2012 when he visited the Culinary Academy of Las Vegas during the reelection campaign of President Barack Obama.
Cancela, who at the time was the political director of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226, has never forgotten the “conviction” with which Biden talked about labor as the backbone of the country.
“I got to see him talk to workers in a way that was so authentic,” said Cancela, a Las Vegas Democrat. “He has this ability to really reel in and listen to the stories people were telling him.”
When Biden started his presidential campaign last spring, Cancela was one of the first Nevada politicians to endorse him. At a time when Biden was struggling in the polls, her backing never wavered.
Over a year after her endorsement, Cancela is scheduled to appear this week virtually at the Democratic National Convention, where Biden will formally accept the party’s nomination for the presidency. The Milwaukee event begins today and is being held remotely because of the pandemic.
“I will be watching the convention in my Nevada Democratic Party swag,” Cancela said. “I’ve been around long enough to have Harry Reid 2010 T-shirts, I have some Obama 2016 T-shirts, I have some Culinary Union campaign T-shirts, and I’m excited to wear one each night of the convention as I join watch parties with other Nevada Democrats across the state.”
As a senior adviser in Nevada to Biden’s campaign, Cancela said her responsibilities range from joining phone banking to taking part in strategy meetings.
“It’s really my job to ensure I’m supporting the hard work of our really brilliant staffs across the state,” Cancela said.
Alana Mounce, the state director for Biden’s campaign, said Cancela “does it all.”
“From providing strategic advice from her years of experience in Nevada politics to motivating and encouraging our staff and volunteers, Yvanna brings a wide range of skills and talents to the work it will take to win Nevada for the Biden-Harris ticket,” Mounce said in a statement.
Biden’s path to the nomination wasn’t always clear, especially after the Nevada caucuses in February, when Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders received more than double the votes of Biden. That status lasted until the next nominating contest, the South Carolina primaries, where Biden won decisively with Black voters.
Sanders and more progressive members of the Democratic Party have worked with the Biden campaign on a party unity platform, with task forces appointed by Sanders and Biden producing a 100-page document outlining a recommendation for more progressive policies like universal Pre-K and an expansion of minimum wage.
Cancela said she thinks Sanders supporters will come into the fold for Biden come November. His supporters have turned out as volunteers and campaign staff for Biden, she said.
“It’s, in my opinion, because Democrats understand that even if their candidate … didn’t become the nominee, that we all had work to do to ensure Donald Trump doesn’t get a second term,” she said.
Polling has Biden ahead of President Donald Trump in Nevada. Cancela stressed supporters cannot stop working to turn out the vote.
“There are a lot of polls that tell you it’s going to be a hands-down victory for Joe Biden,” she said. “I’m an optimist, so I like to think that’s true. But I know, because of my experience in politics, victory is going to take a lot of hard work, and that here in Nevada and across the country we can take no votes for granted,” Cancela said.
