Republicans' chances to take critical Nevada Senate seat are fading, new polls show

Up until recently, the Nevada Senate race was considered to be a toss up between Jacky Rosen, a Democrat seeking re-election and Sam Brown, her Republican challenger. But a new poll has revealed that the incumbent has opened up a sizable lead with an 18-point gap over Brown.

The poll, conducted by the Cook Political Report and the bipartisan team of BSG and GS Strategy Group, aligns with results from Republican political strategist Woodrow Johnston and Decipher Ai's David Wolfson, whose study showed a 12 percentage point lead by Rosen.

Jessica Taylor, Cook's editor for Senate and governor elections, told The New York Times that while Rosen's 18-point lead might be an outlier, it indicates a growing advantage for the senator. Taylor attributed Rosen's lead to substantial advertising spending and effective messaging on abortion and reproductive rights, which are resonating with women and independent voters.

Despite the widening gap, Taylor noted that the race remains competitive, but acknowledged that Rosen currently has the upper hand. Taylor concluded by saying: "At this point, I would much rather be Rosen than Brown." She did caution against complacency, noting that in Nevada, "you can take nothing for granted."

Cook Political Report also revealed that, at the national level, Trump still holds a slim lead over Harris in Nevada, the only one of seven battle ground states the poll showed Democratic wasn't either winning or tied. "Overall, she holds a narrow lead of 48% to 47% in those states in the head-to-head," concluded the report.

Harris winning back Latino "double-haters" in Nevada

Another poll revealed on Wednesday that Kamala Harris is outperforming Joe Biden by 12 percentage points among registered Latino voters in Nevada, many of which held unfavorable views on both Biden and Trump.

The poll by Equis revealed that the shift "cuts across ideology", according to Maria Di Franco Quiñonez, a research director at the company, adding that

Harris' support among Latino voters is still about 5 percentage points shy of 2020 levels in Nevada, a state in which roughly one in five of the state's eligible voters are from that demographic.