Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Poll: Young Nevadans enthusiastic about midterms but not about those in power

Young voter poll

Steve Marcus

First-time voter Dawson Christian, center, 18, Henderson, casts his ballot Oct. 17, 2020, during the first day of early voting for the 2020 general elction. A poll released today that surveyed more than 400 Nevadans ages 18 to 36 found that while many are enthusiastic about the 2022 elections, they are not satisfied with current leaders and are ready to see changes to the economy.

William Mendoza is excited to vote in the 2022 midterms, but the 28-year-old Las Vegas resident said he was feeling pessimistic about the election and the state of politics overall.

“I feel like not a lot was done over the past year or so,” said Mendoza, an employee at UNLV. “Lots of promises were made, but it just feels like nothing has really happened. That’s kind of where I stand. … I’ll definitely still vote. It’s just tough.”

Mendoza’s thoughts echo how many young voters feel: not satisfied with the government and ready for big change.

A poll released today that surveyed more than 400 Nevadans ages 18 to 36 found that while many are enthusiastic about the 2022 elections, they are not satisfied with the current leaders and are ready to see changes to the economy.

The poll, conducted Jan. 4-12 by Data for Progress in partnership with youth voting organization NextGen America through text message and web panels, comes at a critical time when Democratic incumbents in Nevada like Gov. Steve Sisolak and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto face potentially difficult roads to reelection this November. Their races originally were listed as “lean Democrat” but were changed to “toss ups” by the Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan political newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns nationwide.

Young voters, who make up 29.5% of the total registered voters in Nevada, will be critical for the upcoming Senate and gubernatorial races, said Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez, president of NextGen America.

“What we know is that young voters are enthusiastic to come out and vote,” Tzintzún Ramirez said. “But they need to see a lot more progress — especially of the economy — from Democrats.”

The survey found that 62% of respondents were “as enthusiastic” or “more enthusiastic” about voting in 2022 compared to 2020. But among respondents who said they were more enthusiastic, those identified as Republicans hold a 19-point advantage over Democrats.

Only 17% of independent voters surveyed said they were more enthusiastic to vote in 2022. Of the 620,026 voters ages 18 to 34 in Nevada, 206,871 are registered as Democrats, 116,242 are Republicans, and 235,730 are “nonpartisan,” according to the Nevada secretary of state’s website. The remaining 61,183 are registered as either “other,” Libertarian, Independent American or Green.

With more than 235,000 of young Nevadans registered as nonpartisan, it’s no wonder the survey found that many young Nevada residents disapprove of both Democrat and Republican parties. Overall, the poll found 47% of the respondents disapproved of the Republicans, and 51% also disapproved of Democrats. Those ratings increased among the respondents who are registered to vote. Fifty-two percent were unfavorable of the Republican Party, and the Democratic Party was viewed as unfavorable by 62% of the respondents.

Young Nevadans are much more progressive than they are conservative, Tzintzún Ramirez said, “but they are going to hold both political parties and candidates accountable.”

Rather than one party pointing to the other and telling young people their lives would be worse with them, young people are saying, “Well, how are you actually going to make my life better to live for me?” she said.

For Sisolak, 37% percent of respondents approve while 47% disapprove. Fourteen percent don’t know how they feel. For Cortez Masto, 28% approve of the first-term senator and 42% disapprove, while 30% don’t know.

Many respondents — 38% — do not know how they feel about Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, whose term ends in 2025. Twenty-eight percent approve and 35% disapprove of Rosen.

“Sen. Cortez Masto is more unpopular than Gov. Sisolak and Sen. Rosen,” the survey analysts wrote. “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,” the survey analysts continued.

The poll did not ask about Sisolak or Cortez Masto’s potential GOP opponents, nor did it gauge the popularity of the state’s four U.S. representatives.

Carolyn Chen, an 18-year old UNLV student studying mechanical engineering, is interested in minority, LGBTQ, women reproductive rights and education issues. Having moved from Los Angeles to Las Vegas when she was 12, she remembers experiencing teacher shortages in middle school and high school. Though she did not take part in the poll, Chen said she was registered and plans to vote in this year’s elections.

The poll shows that many young people have “economic anxiety,” Tzintzún Ramirez said. Strengthening the economy is the most important issue for young people. They want to see the federal minimum wage increase to $15 an hour and student debt be erased.

They want the criminal justice system to be reformed and the cost of prescription drugs reduced, the survey found.

Young people want to see their senators and governors take stronger stances on those positions, Tzintzún Ramirez said. They are desperate for deep, structural change, especially when it comes to the economy.

Almost half of young American adults are living with their parents right now, Tzintzún Ramirez said.

“They look around and they see many dead-end jobs, they see that they’re going to be the first generation in American history that’s worse off than their parents,” Tzintzún Ramirez said, “and so it’s not surprising that (the economy is) where they want to see the greatest action.”

It is up to candidates and political parties to invest in young people and to not see them as an afterthought, Tzintzún Ramirez said, but rather as a “core, critical voice of our democracy.”

“Young voters are overwhelmingly progressive, but I think what this poll shows is that they can’t be taken for granted,” Tzintzún Ramirez said. “And also that what young people care about is the delivery of the issues that really matter.”