Las Vegas is best known for its glittering casinos along the Strip, but it is also a perennial political battleground. That is partly because it is a transient region inside a transient state — a place where people move in and out with rapid speed, adding a new crop of voters with every election cycle.
Adding to that volatility is the fact that the state’s demographics skew young, and that the number of new voter registrations keep growing. Much of that growth comes from Hispanic voters, who make up more than 20 percent of the Nevada electorate.
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Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
Livier Maxwell
Livier Maxwell
Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Marco Hernandez
Marco Hernandez
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Alfonso N. Lopez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
Marco Hernandez
Marco Hernandez
Livier Maxwell
Livier Maxwell
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Livier Maxwell
Livier Maxwell
Alfonso N. Lopez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Rafael Cerros Jr.
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
Marco Hernandez
Marco Hernandez
Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Livier Maxwell
Livier Maxwell
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
“When people think of Vegas,
“When people think of Vegas,
they do tend to think of the Strip, the bright lights,
they do tend to think of the Strip, the bright lights,
the gambling.”
the gambling.”
“‘You’re living in Vegas?
“‘You’re living in Vegas?
That place, not a good place for children.’
That place, not a good place for children.’
I heard that.”
I heard that.”
“You know, Las Vegas is not all just the Strip.”
“You know, Las Vegas is not all just the Strip.”
“It’s nice and calm.
“It’s nice and calm.
A place where someone would want to grow a family.”
A place where someone would want to grow a family.”
“I was was born and raised in Mexico,
“I was was born and raised in Mexico,
migrated like most of the people here in Las Vegas.”
migrated like most of the people here in Las Vegas.”
“I’m originally from Uruguay.”
“I’m originally from Uruguay.”
“I’m originally from Mexico City.”
“I’m originally from Mexico City.”
“I am a third-generation Mexican American.”
“I am a third-generation Mexican American.”
“Our Latinos, we’re hustlers.”
“Our Latinos, we’re hustlers.”
“I’m a working-class man, got two jobs.
“I’m a working-class man, got two jobs.
I sleep two, three hours a day.
I sleep two, three hours a day.
That’s all I sleep.”
That’s all I sleep.”
“I’m the vice president for my union.”
“I’m the vice president for my union.”
“I am a stay-at-home mom.”
“I am a stay-at-home mom.”
“The way the Republican Party is reaching out,
“The way the Republican Party is reaching out,
they know the power that we have as Latinos.”
they know the power that we have as Latinos.”
“I feel like I have seen a lot of pandering
“I feel like I have seen a lot of pandering
from the Democratic side to get the Latino vote.”
from the Democratic side to get the Latino vote.”
“I mean, it’s a very complex community.”
“I mean, it’s a very complex community.”
“You got Guatemalans, you have Ecuadoreans,
“You got Guatemalans, you have Ecuadoreans,
you have Cubans.”
you have Cubans.”
“I guess a pet peeve of mine — they put us all in a bucket.”
“I guess a pet peeve of mine — they put us all in a bucket.”
“What’s the important issue for me — right now is the economy.”
“What’s the important issue for me — right now is the economy.”
“Peace.”
“Peace.”
“Security —
“Security —
like, I want my kids to be safe.”
like, I want my kids to be safe.”
“I think immigration.”
“I think immigration.”
“What do I think about when politicians
“What do I think about when politicians
talk about the Latino vote?
talk about the Latino vote?
I think they don’t even know what they’re talking about.
I think they don’t even know what they’re talking about.
So I get it.
So I get it.
It’s politics.
It’s politics.
They need votes.”
They need votes.”
For nearly two decades, Nevada Democrats have eked out wins in the state, making it an essential part of the path to win the White House. But Democrats’ popularity here has slipped recently. Latino voters frequently cite the economy and housing as their top concerns, and many say they are deeply frustrated with the party they once supported.
A Struggling Economy
No other issue is as important in Las Vegas as the economy: Spend a few minutes with any voter and they will tell you about the price of groceries or gas or rent or electricity — or all of the above.
Working-class voters are especially concerned about the cost of housing, with renters struggling to keep up with their monthly payments and increasingly seeing homeownership as out of reach.
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Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Vanessa Martinez
Vanessa Martinez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Alfonso N. Lopez
Jonathan Ocampos
Jonathan Ocampos
“Buying a house.
“Buying a house.
That’s what I want to have.
That’s what I want to have.
Secure a future for my family.”
Secure a future for my family.”
“The big corporations or big companies,
“The big corporations or big companies,
they are buying houses in Vegas.
they are buying houses in Vegas.
And they make that more expensive for us.
And they make that more expensive for us.
For young people, it’s going to be double.”
For young people, it’s going to be double.”
“When my parents were my age,
“When my parents were my age,
they already owned multiple properties,
they already owned multiple properties,
and I’m still, like, trying to catch up.”
and I’m still, like, trying to catch up.”
“My daughters, they’re in their early 30s
“My daughters, they’re in their early 30s
and it’s impossible for them.
and it’s impossible for them.
They’re both renting homes,
They’re both renting homes,
and they’re overpaying for their rent.
and they’re overpaying for their rent.
Their rent has skyrocketed.”
Their rent has skyrocketed.”
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to buy a home.
“I don’t know when I’ll be able to buy a home.
It just, it seems like one of those improbable dreams.”
It just, it seems like one of those improbable dreams.”
“I’m glad to hear that Kamala Harris has a plan
“I’m glad to hear that Kamala Harris has a plan
for first-time homebuyers.
for first-time homebuyers.
I hope my daughters take advantage of that.”
I hope my daughters take advantage of that.”
“From my point of view, Trump is the best way to go.
“From my point of view, Trump is the best way to go.
If houses are expensive, let’s lose some regulations
If houses are expensive, let’s lose some regulations
so we can build more houses.”
so we can build more houses.”
Livier Maxwell, a 41-year-old stay-at-home mother, moved from San Diego to Las Vegas more than a decade ago largely because she believed that the economic opportunities would be better. Here, her family can comfortably live on her husband’s salary alone.
Ms. Maxwell says she plans to enthusiastically vote for former President Donald J. Trump this year, because she believes he will help improve the economy.
“Things were better for me when he was in office, I had more money in the bank,” she said.
The pandemic particularly ravaged Las Vegas, as casinos on the Strip shut down for months in 2020 and brought the economy, dependent on tourism, to a standstill. Though the situation has dramatically improved from four years ago, when roughly 90 percent of the members of the powerful Culinary Workers Union were out of work, many workers say they haven’t recovered.
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Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
Etelvina Zamora-Esquivel
I used to be a pit clerk.
I used to be a pit clerk.
Around all the tables where the dealers are,
Around all the tables where the dealers are,
we have to fill the tables with chips.
we have to fill the tables with chips.
And, like 4 in the morning, we have to do the count,
And, like 4 in the morning, we have to do the count,
make sure that everything matched.
make sure that everything matched.
I was there for 22 years.
I was there for 22 years.
Well after the pandemic, everything changed.
Well after the pandemic, everything changed.
Not too much visitors.
Not too much visitors.
And they let us go.
And they let us go.
My husband, he stopped working one year also.
My husband, he stopped working one year also.
It was hard.
It was hard.
Very, very hard.
Very, very hard.
Suldenil Alvarez-Loriga, 45, emigrated from Cuba nearly a decade ago, coming to Las Vegas because she had seen the glittering Strip in TV shows. But in recent years, Ms. Alvarez has been shocked to see she needs to hold down two or three jobs just to pay her bills.
“I have to work all the time, with no time to see my family,” she said. “But what other choice do I have?”
For weeks now, Ms. Alvarez has joined other members of the Culinary Workers Union, including Joleen Reyes, who works at the Cosmopolitan hotel, knocking on doors to drum up support for Vice President Kamala Harris and other Democrats.
“I think she understands what we are going through, and will make it better for people like us,” Ms. Reyes said.
