The return of convicted felon Donald Trump to the White House. Protection for abortion. Reduction of funding for public libraries. These are just a few of the things Nevadans voted for in this year’s general election, leading to results that surprised some and disappointed others.
But what drove these results?
The Associated Press’ VoteCast may have some answers. The VoteCast survey asked a series of questions to more than 120,000 registered voters nationwide from Oct. 28 – Nov. 5 when the polls closed. It was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and included interviews in English and Spanish, with people who voted and those who are registered but chose not to vote, and among those who voted in-person, by mail, early or absentee.
Nationwide, more voters polled by VoteCast said they voted for a candidate they preferred rather than casting a vote against a candidate. More voters said Trump could handle a crisis and was a strong leader. However, Vice President Kamala Harris was considered by more people to be honest and mentally capable, and would “look out for people like you.”
Women in Nevada were more likely to vote for Harris, as were those who are younger, non-white or who have a college degree. Six out of 10 rural voters favored Trump, and suburban voters were almost evenly divided between the candidates. White voters over age 45 also favored Trump by nearly 20 percentage points.
Top national issues: Economy, immigration and abortion
A handful of issues were considered more important for Nevadans during this election than in 2020. During the last presidential election, COVID-19 was the top issue for around four in 10 voters, but this year that same percentage of Silver State voters said the economy and jobs was the top issue facing the country.
According to the latest report by Nevada’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, unemployment in Nevada is slightly higher than the national average at 5.6% vs. 4.1%, but Reno’s unemployment rate is closer to national figures at 4.3%. The rate is close to what it was at the same time last year, and it dropped by nearly one-half percent from August to September.
Immigration was the leading issue for two in 10 Nevada voters. Rural voters and those with no college degree were more focused on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border than their counterparts. White and non-white voters over age 45 were also more focused on border issues.
Data published this year by the American Immigration Council notes that nearly 20% of Nevada’s residents are foreign-born, and those individuals account for nearly a quarter of the state’s labor force, paying more than $5 billion in taxes and carrying $18.2 billion in spending power. More than half are naturalized U.S. citizens, with many more eligible for citizenship. Of the more than 600,000 immigrants living in the Silver State, close to 64% are in the workforce and nearly three-quarters have at least a high school diploma or higher education.
Nevada was among 10 states this year with ballot questions that would enshrine abortion rights in their constitutions. Abortion, which was considered to be a top issue nationwide—“Abortion is on the ballot” was a key phrase heard this election year—was the top issue for just 12% of Nevada voters.
Women were more likely to identify abortion as an important factor in casting their vote by a more than 10 percentage point margin. People of color, those living in urban communities and voters under 45 were also more likely to prioritize abortion policy when making voting decisions. Despite it not being the top priority for most Nevada voters, reproductive rights was still favored by the majority of Nevadans with the state’s ballot measure passing with more than 60% support. The question will come back to voters in 2026 before being officially adopted into the constitution.
A smaller percentage of voters said health care, climate change, racism and foreign policy were their top issues in this election but only slightly more important this year than in 2020.
Other concerns: Housing, crime and inflation
Regardless of age, gender, race, education or location, nine out of 10 Nevadans said they were concerned about the cost of housing in their communities. According to Bankrate, data from September shows Nevada’s median home price is nearly $40,000 higher than the national average at $467,400. Washoe County’s home prices are even higher, with the average single-family home costing around $580,000, and many homeowners and renters are burdened by housing costs.
Harris offered a plan that would increase housing supply and cut red tape by expanding existing tax credits for building affordable rental housing and creating a new tax credit to encourage builders to develop more starter homes. She also proposed $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers—a measure some economists said would drive demand beyond supply and potentially increase already high housing prices.
Trump, on the other hand, proposed opening up more federal land for housing, something Nevada has a lot of. He also proposed slashing regulations to spur development and bringing down mortgage rates—something the president doesn’t have control over. Trump also said his immigration policies, which included a promise to deport millions of illegal immigrants, would reduce demand for housing resulting in lower prices. Economists disagree on the impact.
A majority of Nevadans across all demographics—anywhere from 71% to 84%—also said they were concerned about crime in their community. An FBI crime data report shows that violent crimes reported by Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and Reno Police Department have increased steadily since 2014, but homicides, rapes, aggravated assaults and robberies haven’t seen much increase since 2020. Property crimes, such as thefts and burglary, have also remained fairly steady since 2021.
Men in Nevada were less likely than women to consider inflation and the price of goods like gas and groceries as an important factor when casting their ballot. Inflation eased over the past year from 6.5% to 3.4%. In Nevada, the average cost of gas dropped from $4.49 per gallon a year ago to $3.77 per gallon now. Consumer price data shows that in the western region, the cost of milk has dropped by 30 cents per gallon over the past year while the cost of a loaf of bread has increased just 13 cents.
Men in Nevada were also more willing to dismiss Trump’s legal and criminal cases as a factor in their vote. Between both men and women in Nevada, around three in 10 said Trump’s cases had no bearing on their voting decision. Trump was convicted in May on 34 felony counts for falsifying records to cover up hush money payments to a porn actor in an effort to influence the 2016 election. He faces sentencing in that case on Nov. 26. Since leaving office in 2021 he was also found liable for sexual abuse and defamation in cases brought by writer E. Jean Carroll.
Cases still pending against Trump, and for which he has employed legal tactics to delay progress, include a RICO case in Georgia stemming from his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He also has two federal cases pending, including one for illegally taking classified documents from the White House to his Florida resort and a second for actions related to Jan. 6, 2021, and his attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election through a violent insurrection.
Local issue: Libraries
The only local ballot issue voters had to ponder was Washoe County 1, an initiative to renew a property tax set-aside that would allocate two cents for every $100 of assessed property value to the Washoe County Library System. Opponents of the measure said it would constitute a new tax, which confused many voters and wasn’t accurate. Property taxes will remain the same, but rather than the funds being allocated to libraries they will go to the county’s general fund.
Some community members said they were “disgusted about the outcome of WC1” and complained about how the ballot measure was worded.
“I think because of the way it was written people interpreted it as a new tax, when in reality it was just an extension of an existing tax,” a user on Reddit said. “Not sure if that was intentionally malicious, or just shortsighted.”
