Nevada

While partisanship remains strong among the rural electorate, more than one-third (37%) of rural voters appear "swingable" in future elections, depending on resonant policy proposals and messaging. Three messaging points — lowering prices; bringing good-paying jobs to local communities; and a populist message focused on corporate greed — received such broad support that they rivaled voters’ agreement on core values like family and freedom. Read additional analysis in the Daily Yonder's coverage.

Nevada voters are deeply concerned about water issues, and few believe that the state is doing enough to address climate change. 46% of Nevada voters say that the state isn’t doing enough to address climate change, compared to just 11% who say that the state is doing too much and 25% who say that the state is doing the right amount. Just over half of Nevadans say they approve of Gov. Joe Lombardo’s job performance four months into his term. Of those respondents, however, only 16 percent said they “strongly approve” of Lombardo’s performance, while another 35 percent said they “somewhat approve.” Another 21 percent of respondents said they have “no opinion.” Lombardo’s approval also differed widely among genders — it was as high as 61 percent among men, compared with just 42 percent among women — as well as by region. Lombardo’s highest marks came from the state’s rural counties (70 percent approval).

Latino voters in battleground states and districts overwhelmingly support the Build Back Better plan’s climate and clean energy provisions. All of the 11 Build Back Better provisions tested in the poll have overwhelming support (76%+), and several climate and clean energy provisions rank among the most popular elements of the bill whether looking at overall net support or intensity (“strong support”). Particularly appealing provisions include: lowering energy costs by making homes, schools, buildings, and vehicles more energy efficient (89% total support, including 55% strong support); creating millions of additional clean energy jobs in fast-growing industries like wind and solar (87% total support, including 52% strong support); making oil and gas companies pay their fair share for the pollution they create (86% total support, including 55% strong support); providing tax incentives to make clean energy sources like wind and solar power widely available at lower costs (86% total support, including 51% strong support; rewarding electric utilities that generate more electricity from clean energy sources like wind and solar (85% total support, including 50% strong support). (The poll sampled Latino voters statewide in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada, as well as Latino voters in competitive U.S. House districts in California and Texas).

Residents of US western states continue to prioritize conservation of the land, water, wildlife, and their ability to enjoy the outdoors. People in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho were surveyed for this poll. 97% of westerners believe the rising cost of living is a serious issue, and 89% believe the price of gasoline is a serious issue. There has been a 28-point increase since 2016 in the share of westerners who say that people moving to their state is a serious problem (from 47% to 75%). 50% of westerns say that the current shortage of water in the west is a serious crisis. The plurality of westerners (38%) say that businesses use the most water in their state, as compared to farmers and ranchers (34%) and households (25%).

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls - including new polling on conservation, climate, and energy issues in Western states + new national polling on the Inflation Reduction Act  + state-level polling in Minnesota about the state’s new clean energy bill and other environmental priorities.