Nevada Latino Voters: A House Divided
Illustration by Michelle Perez for palabra
Representing nearly 22% of Nevada’s electorate, Latino political power grows in an election year when the Silver State’s six electoral votes can tilt the scale.
Editor’s note: “El Voto Latino 2024: In Search of the 36 Million” began as an exploration by three NAHJ Latina journalists to understand the people behind this rapidly growing voting bloc. In their own words: “We aim to examine what this vote means at the macro level and what it says about the enfranchisement and political influence asserted by this demographic. At the regional level — specifically in swing states — what do this vote and community represent for states’ political identities? One cannot see, read or hear about the election and those tossup states without noticing Nevada and Arizona in particular. The Latino electorate in these two states has grown dramatically during the past 10 years.
Additionally, in a year marked by mass layoffs in news, with Latinos impacted significantly, we want to ensure that we are highlighting why it matters editorially to have Latinos in the newsroom and the type of exploration that is needed when covering the Latino vote and community.”
This coverage was made possible by a grant through the URL Collective, a nonprofit supporting local, diverse media. palabra and URL Collective have partnered to bring you election reporting from grassroots media. |
At the Broadacres Marketplace, an open-air swap meet in North Las Vegas, Nevada, an average of 20,000 attendees — most of them Latino families — gather on weekends to enjoy music, micheladas, and fruta picada, a type of fruit salad. Agustín Ramírez, a local vendor who sells fruit and coconuts, is an undecided voter and says his family still needs to decide whom they’ll support. They join other Nevada Latinos who have not made up their minds about which candidate to vote for. Ramírez says the past four years have been tough for his family, and worse for his 30-year business.
“The truth is that we don’t have good candidates. I don’t see a candidate worrying about ‘El pueblo,’ the people. I haven’t seen it. My children also feel the same,” says Ramírez. “We know who Trump is. He is combative and has a loud mouth, and this lady — well, it isn’t that we don’t like her, but rather, she isn’t offering a good proposal that can convince us to vote for her. Plus, I disagree with what Biden is doing in the Middle East and Russia. We are spending too much money abroad, and people on the street here are struggling.”
Ramírez and his family are part of a Latino electorate in Nevada that experts say can play a big role in determining who becomes the next president.
Agustín Ramírez, a local vendor who sells fruit and coconuts, is an undecided voter.
NEVADA’S ELECTORATE
According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), approximately 280,000 Latino voters in Nevada will cast ballots this year, an increase of nearly 16% since 2020. UCLA’s Latino Policy & Politics Institute (LPPI) says that about 450,000 Latinos are eligible to vote in Nevada, representing nearly 22% of the state’s electorate. Current polls show a split in support, and swing states like Nevada may determine who will be the next president. In 2020, Biden won Nevada’s six Electoral College votes with a margin of about 2.3%, or fewer than 34,000 votes. LPPI’s Latino Data Hub found that Latino voters favored Biden over Trump by a 3 to 1 margin. Most polls now signal an election with a one- to two-point difference between candidates across these battleground states.
KEY ISSUES ON THE BALLOT AND IN THE SENATE RACE
Nevada’s voter behavior in 2024 will not only help determine who occupies the White House come January; the November 5th election could also allow Democrats to hold on to key Senate seats while engaging and retaining Democratic voters. In Nevada, both seats are currently held by Democrats. Senator Jacky Rosen is up for reelection, and despite having firm support from voters, she is courting Latinos heavily. In the spring, Rosen launched television and digital campaign ads in Spanish. “Jacky understands the importance and power of the Latino community in Nevada, and this major investment in Spanish-language media is a reflection of our campaign’s ongoing efforts to engage early and consistently with the Latino voters who will decide the 2024 election,” said the Rosen campaign’s political director, in a press statement announcing the first wave of Spanish ads. Rosen continued her push with Spanish ads well into the end of summer. Rosen and her opponent, former Army captain Sam Brown, had a tense exchange about immigration and mass deportation — an issue important to Latino voters —during their most recent debate. Brown has also signaled the importance of the Latino vote. During a small business roundtable with Latinos and former President Donald Trump, Brown acknowledged Latino voter value in Nevada when he said, “Thank you, President Trump, for being here, for demonstrating to the world just how important Nevada is, how important the Hispanic voters are, how important this community is.”
Nevada is one of several states with a reproductive rights ballot initiative that has gained much national attention. Question 6 on the Nevada ballot would cement in the state constitution the right to an abortion up to 24 weeks, making this right more difficult to overturn. According to the Pew Research Center, 59% of Latinos nationwide say abortion should be legal in most or all cases, compared to the overall national average of 63%. “I am very much for abortion rights as well as the environment. I feel like those are my main concerns,” says Alexandria Garza, a young voter. She says most of her friends support Vice President Kamala Harris, but her family is split. “It depends on the crowd you ask,” Garza says. A 2022 survey by Mi Familia Vota Education Fund and UnidosUS reported that more than 81% of Latino voters in Nevada opposed “taking the choice of abortion away from others,” and believed “abortion should be legal even if it goes against their personal beliefs on the issue.”
Alexandria Garza, a young voter at the swap meet in North Las Vegas.
LATINO VOTERS AND THE ECONOMY
At the small business roundtable in North Las Vegas with former President Donald Trump, Jesús Márquez is all in for the former president. He says that the economy is driving him to the polls to vote for Trump. “The rent payment, the gas payment, the food payment, all of those things are twice as expensive or more than when Donald Trump was in office.” Márquez says he trusts Trump because of what he considers to be Trump’s strong business acumen. “What we have is inflation; the American Dream is slipping out of our hands,” Márquez adds. He believes that economic issues are tied to border security, and said that “open borders under the Biden administration are causing more inflation, more crime, and for other Latinos to wait more for their status.” Economists note that an increase in immigration, which corresponds to growth in the pool of low-skilled workers, would help or have no impact on inflation and reduction.
At a small business roundtable former President Donald Trump criticizes the Democratic Party.
According to the Small Business Administration, the number of Latino-owned businesses grew 34% between 2010 and 2020, compared to just 1% for all other small businesses. At the roundtable, other business owners echoed Márquez’s support for Trump and the economy. Iris Ramos Jones, who works in real estate and was appointed by Nevada’s governor to serve as director of the Office of New Americans, is a supporter of Trump’s policies.
Ramos Jones emigrated from Ecuador and will be voting as a naturalized citizen. “We do see this country with a lot of hope that you gave us,” Ramos Jones told Trump at the event. She argued that Latinos lost opportunities under the Biden administration. “They know the power of Latinos, and they are only using us for political purposes.”
Back at the North Las Vegas swap meet, Latinos echoed the perceived connection between Trump and the economy. Julio de la Torre says his house is divided because he is voting differently than his wife, who is voting for Harris. “There isn't a good candidate, but I think (I’ll vote for) Trump. He is a man of business; it's strategic.” The Pew Research Center finds that “85% of Latino voters say the economy is ‘very important’ to their vote in this year’s presidential election,” and among those Latinos voting for Trump, there is a higher percentage of those supporting him for economic reasons, than those who lean toward Harris. The Pew study reported that among Trump’s Latino supporters, 93% said the economy was the most important issue influencing their vote. This is compared to 80% among those who back Harris. Some national polls, including from the Associated Press, show the country is split on whom they view as better for the economy.
Nevada resident Daisy Ramírez, 38, doesn’t know if she will vote but leans toward Harris for economic reasons. “They say she is going to help us, and Trump said he would help us and didn’t help us at all.… I care about lowering food prices, rent prices, so we can live better,” she says.
Among Latino voters in Nevada who express support for Harris, there is economic dissatisfaction and hope for something better. Oscar Meza, a small business owner sporting a shirt with a Captain America logo, sells candies and Mexican treats at local spots, including the swap meet. He says he plans to vote for Harris, adding that the economy is his top issue. He believes Harris will take care of the middle class, and he hopes she will address the issue of inflation. “Even though she is doing really good in the economy, it is hard to feel it .… We keep hitting records on the stock market, but we still don’t feel it in our pocketbooks.”
Unlike Meza, Cito Rodriguez, a naturalized citizen in his forties from Mexico, joins a small but growing group of Latino men who are leaning right. A recent NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll found an increasing number of defections from the Democratic Party by Latino men, particularly among those without college degrees and those under the age of 50. “I was debating for a long time, and I think the Democratic Party has lied to us Hispanics for many, many periods,” he said. “However rude he might be — because I hate him (Trump) as a person — I think he is a better choice, he can make us stronger economically, the entire country, not just Hispanics.” The Democratic Party is losing votes, however small in percentage, at a time when every vote in swing states like Nevada is consequential.
Cito Rodriguez, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Mexico.
Current national polls show a 1% difference between Harris and Trump. FiveThirtyEight reports a 1.8% difference between the candidates. In Nevada, the difference between the candidates is even narrower; Harris has a 0.1% advantage. Overall, Harris still leads among Latino voters nationwide. Per the NBC News/Telemundo/CNBC poll, Latino voter support for Harris is at 54%, with support for Trump at 40%. Six percent say they’re unsure or do not plan to vote. There is a reluctance to talk about politics among those still making up their minds. As people are approached by canvassers at the swap meet, they decline and say they don’t want to talk. A couple walking past the aguas frescas says, “I don’t think we are voting.” When asked which way they lean, they say, ¡“Ni cuál”! meaning, “Slim pickings.”
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Some Nevada unions hope to reach apathetic and undecided voters using what the union calls their “people power.” With more than 60,000 members, the Culinary Workers Union is the largest in the state composed of members of color, and has strong influence in a state heavily dependent on tourism and the service industry. Claudia Avalos, 51, is a housekeeper at one of the larger hotels on the Las Vegas Strip and has spent half her life as a union member. Amid chants from a fellow union member shouting, ¡"Cuando votamos, ganamos"! ( When we vote, we win!) to energize the crowd of union members at a gathering before heading out of a canvassing hall to knock on doors and speak with voters, she says that as a single mother and immigrant from Mexico, she is excited by the idea of women presidents on both sides of the southern border. “It would be an inspiration for all little girls, especially immigrants,” says Avalos, a naturalized citizen and voter. Together with 400 other union members, she spends her days off work, going door-to-door. During the 2022 midterm elections, the union led one of the largest political programs, with 450 volunteers knocking on over 1 million doors and holding 175,000 conversations with voters. The union is replicating that effort across the state during this election. Jafeth Sanchez, co-director of the University of Nevada’s Latino Research Center, says unions have a profound effect on workers’ civic engagement. “Outreach to Latinos is amplified; they have the power to decide what candidate will receive support by function of their jobs and benefits.”
The Culinary Workers Union is the largest in Nevada composed of members of color.
“It is important to motivate people. We have to make it worth it as citizens,” says Avalos as she prepares to knock on as many doors as she can leading up to Election Day.
The Harris campaign dedicated three million dollars during Hispanic Heritage month to target eligible Latino voters in swing states, including 47% of Nevada’s bilingual Latino electorate and 17% of those Latino voters who are solely Spanish speakers. The Trump campaign has visited the state multiple times. It has touted a “no tax on tips” policy that would greatly benefit hotel and casino workers, a group with a large Latino demographic. Both candidates are backing this proposal. Additionally, both candidates participated in town halls with undecided voters sponsored by Univisión, Harris’ town hall took place in Nevada and Trump’s in Florida, another state with a large Latino electorate. The impact and value of Latino voters’ ability to flip Nevada can be observed in how much both parties have grown in their spending since 2020. According to a report by the group AdImpact, Spanish-language television and radio station ad buys hit a record this election year. Presidential ads in Spanish grew to 25% from 10% in 2020, with total spending for Spanish ads growing 724% compared to 2020 in Nevada.
In Las Vegas, Yudit Pinedo de Sánchez, a naturalized citizen who immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico, and has made a home in the West Las Vegas neighborhood, has been tuned into the commercials and programming targeting Latinos. In 2020, she organized a cabalgata a las urnas, a horseback ride to the polls, and this year, she plans another cabalgata to empower Latino voters to get out and vote because she sees a lot of voter apathy. “They say there isn’t a good candidate to get behind, no hay a quien irle.”
Yudit Pinedo de Sánchez, a naturalized citizen who immigrated from Jalisco, Mexico.
In her own home, she sees a split. Her husband is voting for Trump, and she is voting for Harris. She believes Harris would be better for Latinos and immigration reform. She says Trump has not been respectful of the community: “He is always offending Hispanics, very racist.” She says she wants to be at peace with her vote, and adds that other Latino voters will have to contend with whether they feel at peace with their choice after the election. “I feel that with Kamala we will be at peace seeing our traditions and culture respected, our roots. Not with Donald Trump. With him, it feels like we are unworthy of being a part of the nation.”
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Carmen Márquez is a Mexican American independent reporter based in Los Angeles. She has focused on indigenous and undocumented communities and has previously worked as an anchor/reporter in Telemundo 52/NBC4 Los Angeles. During the 2020 election, Márquez covered the young Latino demographic in the USA for Telemundo and NBC, and is currently producing an audio documentary on Latinas and ADHD for LWC Studios. @carmenmarqueztv
Carmen Valencia is a Latina independent journalist based in San Diego and a two-time Emmy Award and Associated Press winner. Growing up along the U.S.-Mexico border profoundly shaped her personal and professional journey. She previously worked at Spectrum News Network in Los Angeles and served as an immigration video correspondent for Yahoo News. Carmen’s reporting covers immigration, politics, and social justice, with a focus on elevating voices of Latino and underrepresented communities. Committed to holding power accountable, she brings a deep passion for empathetic, non-extractive, and compassionate storytelling. @carmenvalencianews
Cora Cervantes is an independent journalist in Los Angeles with a reporting focus on politics, immigration, climate change, race and justice, and culture with an equity lens. She has a television and cable news production background at NBC News and MSNBC. She has produced digital stories for multimedia outlets, including NBC News, Al-Jazeera, NPR’s Latino USA, High Country News, and Narratively. She is a graduate of Columbia University and holds a Master’s degree from New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She currently serves as a board member of NAHJ’s Los Angeles Chapter. @cora_cervantes
Michelle Perez is an illustrator and designer based in Providence, Rhode Island. Raised across both coasts of the United States, she grounds herself in the stories she’s carried with her along the way. Her art seeks to elevate meaningful narratives through bold linework and thoughtful compositions, bridging traditional and digital means of making. @michiperezart
Patricia Guadalupe raised in Puerto Rico, is a bilingual multimedia journalist based in Washington, D.C. She has been covering the capital for both English- and Spanish-language media outlets since the mid-1990s. She previously worked as a reporter in New York City. She’s been an editor at Hispanic Link News Service, a reporter at WTOP Radio (CBS Washington affiliate), a contributing reporter for CBS Radio network, and has written for NBC News.com and Latino Magazine, among others. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and has a Master’s degree from the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University. She specializes in business news and politics, and cultural issues. She is the former president of the Washington, D.C. chapter of NAHJ and is an adjunct professor at American University in the nation’s capital and the Washington semester program of Florida International University. @PatriciagDC