Poll: Laxalt Leads Cortez Masto, Lombardo Tied With Sisolak

Nevada U.S. Senate candidate Adam Laxalt is narrowly leading incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Gubernatorial candidate Joe Lombardo is tied with Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak ahead of November elections, new Emerson College Polling shows. 

Former Nevada Attorney General Laxalt is leading Cortez Masto 42 percent to 41 percent — a close enough race to make the “most endangered Democratic incumbent” sweat. Support for the Democrat senator has decreased three points and support for Laxalt has increased one point since Emerson polled Nevada in July. 

“This poll captures what we are seeing on the ground here in Nevada. Between surging inflation, the effects of an open border, and record-high gas prices, Nevadans are fed up with the failed Biden/Cortez Masto agenda and are ready to make a change,” Laxalt said of the poll results. “Cortez Masto and her friends in DC can spend all the money they want attacking me and trying to rehabilitate her image, but none of it will stop the momentum of our grassroots campaign.”

In the Silver State’s gubernatorial election, 40 percent of likely voters plan to cast a ballot for Sisolak and 40 percent for Lombardo. Sisolak’s support has gone down four points and Lombardo’s has remained the same. The results are within the survey’s ±3 percent margin of error. Emerson College Polling surveyed 1,000 likely voters between Sept. 8-10.

Cortez Masto is more popular with women, black voters, and Hispanic voters, though other recent polling shows her popularity with Hispanic voters is declining. Laxalt is more popular with men, white voters, and independent voters, 42 percent to 32 percent.

“Men and women break nearly in opposite directions; male voters break for Laxalt by six and women voters break for Cortez Masto by seven. Additionally, Cortez Masto holds a 19-point lead among Hispanic voters and 27-point lead among Black voters, whereas Laxalt leads White voters by 9,” said Spencer Kimball, executive director of Emerson College Polling. 

Lombardo leads Sisolak with independents 39 percent to 33 percent, and Sisolak leads with younger voters ages 18-34 and Hispanic voters. Sisolak’s popularity with Hispanic voters is also decreasing. 

On a national scale, 53 percent of likely Nevada voters disapprove of President Joe Biden and only 37 percent approve. Likely swing state voters would also pick former President Donald Trump over Biden, 43 percent to 40 percent.

The most important issue to Nevadans is the economy (42 percent), trailed by abortion (18 percent), healthcare (9 percent), immigration (8 percent), crime (5 percent,) water supply (4 percent), and education (3 percent).

Republicans Laxalt and Lombardo are more heavily campaigning on the economy, either by attacking rampant inflation overseen by Biden and Democrats, or by pointing to the impact Sisolak’s pandemic lockdown policies had on small businesses. Cortez Masto and Sisolak have been fear-mongering about abortion, making the threat of a national abortion ban central to their campaigns. It should be noted that Nevada already codified abortion up to 24 weeks in 1990 through a ballot referendum.

Only poll respondents who identify as Biden supporters rank the ability to end the lives of unborn children as more important than the floundering economy, 36 percent to 20 percent. Independents rate “abortion access” as the second most important issue behind the economy, 49 percent to 19 percent, and only 1 percent of Trump supporters care about the issue.