Cortez Masto, Sisolak lead GOP rivals in Nevada: poll

Nevada Democratic incumbents Gov. Steve Sisolak and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto lead their Republican challengers, according to a KLAS TV-The Hill-Emerson College poll released Wednesday. 

Forty-four percent of Nevada voters said they plan to support Cortez Masto, while 41 percent said they planned to support Republican Senate nominee and former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt. Nine percent said they were undecided, and 6 percent said they planned on supporting someone else. 

The poll also found Cortez Masto polling favorably with the state’s Hispanic population, which is a powerful voting bloc in Nevada. 

“Cortez Masto holds the support of minority voters in Nevada: 61% of Asian voters, 51% of Black voters, and 46% of Hispanic voters support Cortez Masto while Laxalt holds the plurality of support among White voters at 46%,” said Spencer Kimball, the executive director of Emerson College polling. 

Meanwhile, in the governor’s race, Sisolak leads his GOP rival Joe Lombardo 44 percent to 40 percent. Nine percent said they plan to vote for another candidate, and 7 percent said they were undecided. 

Nevada is becoming one of the most closely watched midterm states. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates its Senate and gubernatorial races, along with its first, third, and fourth congressional district races, as “toss-ups.”

While many of the Democrats have an incumbency advantage in the race, Republicans stand to benefit from Biden’s poor approval ratings in the state. According to the poll, only 33 percent of voters say they approve of the job the president is doing. Fifty-seven percent say they disapprove.

However, the poll also shows Sisolak appearing to outperform Biden in the state. Forty percent said they approved of the job the governor was doing, while 48 percent said they disapproved.

The KLAS TV-The Hill-Emerson College poll was conducted July 7-10, among 2,000 registered voters in Nevada. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 2.1 percentage points.