Latinos break overwhelmingly for Democrats in Nevada Senate, governor’s races: poll

Latino registered voters in Nevada overwhelmingly support Democratic nominees in the state’s Senate and gubernatorial contests, according to a new Univision poll, though both races remain within the margin of error.

The poll found Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) garnered the support of 60 percent of Latino registered voters, compared to Republican nominee Adam Laxalt’s 27 percent support and 13 percent who said they were undecided or would vote for another candidate.

In the gubernatorial contest, the results were nearly identical, with 60 percent of Latino registered voters supporting Gov. Steve Sisolak’s (D) reelection bid, compared to 26 percent who supported Republican nominee Joe Lombardo and 14 percent undecided or supporting another candidate.

Latino voters, who have historically leaned Democratic, increasingly voted Republican in 2020.

The move to the right has fueled worry among some Democrats that a continued shift could worsen the party’s chances in heavily Latino areas key to this year’s election cycle, such as Nevada and South Texas.

Univision reported that Latinos represent 17 percent of registered voters in Nevada, which is seen as one of Republicans’ best pickup opportunities in the Senate.

Among all registered voters, Cortez Masto recorded a 2-point lead over Laxalt in the poll, garnering 44 percent support to Laxalt’s 42 percent.

That small gap is within the survey’s margin of error, an uncertainty furthered by the 10 percent of respondents who indicated they were undecided.

Sisolak similarly held a 2-point lead over his Republican opponent in the governor’s race among registered voters. Forty-three percent of voters indicated support for Sisolak in the poll, compared to Lombardo’s 41 percent support.

Latinos and the overall sample both listed inflation as the most important issue they want to see lawmakers and President Biden address, but Latinos were less likely to do so.

Forty-eight percent of Latinos ranked inflation and the cost of living as one of the most important issues, compared to 59 percent of white voters.

But 24 percent of Latino respondents included the cost of health care as an important issue, compared to 18 percent of white voters.

Latinos were also more likely to list wages and jobs as an important issue, while other prominent areas such as abortion and immigration did not vary significantly among the groups

The poll was conducted between Oct. 12 and Oct. 19. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points for the entire sample and 4.1 percentage points for the Latino-only sample.