Survey of Young Peoples’ Political Attitudes in Nevada
By Anika Dandekar, David Guirgis, Lew Blank, Brian Burton, and Devi Ruia
Nevada, a critical swing state in 2020, is poised to once again become a battleground in 2022. Incumbent Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, who narrowly succeeded Sen. Harry Reid in 2016, faces another tough election — this time against likely Republican nominee Adam Laxalt, the former attorney general. Meanwhile, incumbent Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak also faces re-election against a crowded field of Republicans, including a former U.S. senator.
New Data for Progress polling of young Nevadans aged 18-36, conducted in partnership with NextGen America, measures the levels of support for incumbent officeholders, the Democratic and Republican parties, voter enthusiasm in advance of the 2022 midterms, and the top issues young Nevadans face.
Young Nevada Residents Are Enthusiastic About Voting in 2022
In our survey, we find that a strong number of young Nevada residents are as enthusiastic or more enthusiastic about voting in 2022, an off-cycle year, compared to 2020 — 62 percent overall. However, looking exclusively at residents who are more enthusiastic about voting in 2022, Republicans hold a 19-point advantage over Democrats.
Young Nevadans Overall Disapprove of Both Their Governor and Their Senators
Currently, both Senate seats as well as the governorship are held by Democrats. We find that Gov. Sisolak is underwater by -11 points across all Nevadans aged 18-36. In addition, Sen. Cortez Masto and Senator Jacky Rosen also have negative approval ratings with young residents: -14 and -7, respectively. Among residents aged 18-24, however, Sen. Cortez Masto is more unpopular than Gov. Sisolak and Sen. Rosen, while among residents aged 25-36, Sen. Rosen holds the highest favorability rating at -3 points. It is important to note that there is a significant percentage of residents who don’t know enough about their senators to make an informed decision; 30 percent of residents don’t know about Sen. Cortez Masto, while 38 percent of residents don’t know enough about Sen. Rosen.
Among registered residents, Gov. Sisolak holds a -9-point disapproval rating, while Sens. Cortez Masto and Rosen hold -16 and -11 disapproval ratings, respectively. Among the unregistered, both Sens. Cortez Masto and Rosen perform better, with -12 and -2 disapproval ratings, respectively. Gov. Sisolak holds a -15-point net disapproval rating among unregistered residents.
Young Nevadans Disapprove of Both Major Political Parties
We also find that the Democratic and Republican parties both hold high unfavorability, but that Democrats are at a disadvantage compared to Republicans. Overall, Democrats are -19 points underwater, a full 10 points behind Republicans. Among residents aged 18-24, Republicans actually hold +2 points net favorability, while Democrats hold -16 points. Meanwhile, among residents aged 25-36, Democrats lag 4 points behind Republicans — but both hold double-digit margins of disapproval.
Registered Young Nevada Residents Favor Republicans
Among registered residents, both parties hold negative favorability — but Democrats lag 17 points behind Republicans, at -27 points. However, among unregistered residents, Democrats hold a 5-point advantage, with almost a third of respondents indicating they don’t know enough about the party to make an informed decision. This provides a critical opportunity for Democrats to close the favorability gap among young Nevada residents.
Strengthening the Economy and Cancelling Student Loans Among Top Issues for Young Residents of Nevada
When polled on the top five most important issues facing young Nevadans, 66 percent of respondents believe that strengthening the economy is among the highest priorities, followed by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour (58 percent) , reforming the criminal justice system (52 percent), and reducing the cost of prescription drugs (45 percent).
When asked about the single most important issue facing young Nevadans, respondents say that strengthening the economy and increasing the minimum wage are their top two priorities, followed by cancelling student loan debt.
The cancellation of student loan debt has the potential to be a highly salient issue in advance of the 2022 midterm elections. Young Nevada residents across the political spectrum and regardless of voter registration status widely support the Biden Administration’s initiative to extend the moratorium on student loans; overall, it carries a +38-point margin of support, which includes Republicans by a +10-point margin.
In addition, the cancellation of all federal student loan debt also proves popular across party affiliation and voter registration status. Sixty percent of young Nevadans overall support the cancellation of student debt, including a plurality of Republicans. Among unregistered residents, this proposal proves especially popular, carrying a +46-point margin of support.
Takeaways
Young voters will be key to a Democratic victory in Nevada, but Democrats operate at a significant disadvantage across enthusiasm and favorability. However, among unregistered residents, Democrats hold a slight advantage, which can be widened as more Nevadans become aware of the Democratic Party and subsequently vote.
Economic issues are top-of-mind for young Nevada residents, with the cancellation of student loan debt providing a critical opportunity to consolidate the vote. The current moratorium on student loan debt is popular across all parties regardless of voter registration status, and the proposal to cancel all federal student loan debt proves similarly popular.
Brian Burton (@Brian_C_Burton) is a senior analyst at Data for Progress.
Anika Dandekar (@AnikaDandekar) is a polling analyst at Data for Progress.
David Guirgis is a writing fellow at Data for Progress.
Lew Blank (@LewBlank) is a senior writer at Data for Progress.
Devi Ruia (@DeviRuia) is a press assistant at Data for Progress.