President Biden Headed To Nevada To Court Latino Voters

NBC news reports that President Joe Biden will head to Nevada this month to rally support among Latino voters, a key demographic in a swing state like Nevada and at a time when the economy and rising energy and household costs are top concerns of Nevadans.

According to the report, Biden will focus on the economy and “gun violence” while positioning himself as “having done more for these communities than any other president or any other administration.”

Biden could be courting Latino voters in Nevada while simultaneously negotiating a border funding bill that includes stricter immigration policies that are opposed by Hispanic leaders.

The Biden campaign has argued that as important as immigration is, public polling and its own research show the economy as the top concern of Latino voters. In Nevada, focusing on gun violence is also a top concern after the massacre outside Mandalay Bay casino in 2017, the country’s deadliest mass shooting.

It’s a new phase of the campaign, advisers say, which reflects why Biden felt it was important to overhaul the Democrats’ nominating calendar — to prioritize the party’s more diverse coalition instead of predominantly white states like Iowa and New Hampshire, where Republicans are kicking off their fight.

“For these communities, the message that we have now is that, one, they are the ones that have the most at stake, and two, Joe Biden has done more for these communities than any other president or any other administration,” Quentin Fulks, Biden’s principal deputy campaign manager, said in an interview. “It would be foolish for us not to communicate with them out of the gate.”

Biden’s visit to the swingy Silver State follows Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Las Vegas last week where she delivered brief remarks to the powerful Culinary Union, stating: “The strength of working people is the backbone of the strength of our nation.”

Yet, the strength of the economy is the top concern of Nevada voters.

As reported by The Globe in November 2023, Nevadans are spending an extra $13,296 a year to afford the basic household necessities since Biden assumed office. In May 2022, The Globe reported that Nevadan household were hit the hardest by inflation. At that time, Nevadans were paying an additional $8,231 annually for basic household expenses.

Based on these estimates, Nevadans have nearly doubled their monthly expenses in just one year.

A recent poll confirms that only 38% of Nevada voters indicate that they approve of the job that President Biden is doing while a majority of the electorate – 53% – disapprove of the job he is doing. Almost half of the electorate (46%) “strongly” disapprove of Biden.

In 2020, Biden won Nevada by a razor-thin two percent, defeating President Donald Trump by a margin of 25,000 votes. At that time, Biden’s approval rating hovered around 57 percent. According to December polling from Gallup, Biden’s approval rating sits at 39 percent–an approval rating worse than any modern-day president seeking reelection.