Election 2016: Nevada Senate

Republican Joe Heck has lost his lead, now falling slightly behind Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto in Nevada’s race to replace retiring U.S. Senator Harry Reid. 

A KTNV-TV 13 Action News/Rasmussen Reports telephone and online survey finds Cortez Masto leading Heck 43% to 41% among Likely Nevada Voters. Seven percent (7%) opt for some other candidate in the race, and eight percent (8%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Heck posted a 44% to 40% lead over his Democratic opponent in mid-September. In late July just after the Democratic National Convention, the two were in a virtual tie – Heck 42%, Cortez Masto 41%.

Cortez Masto, a former Nevada attorney general, has the backing of 81% of Democrats and eight percent (8%) of the state’s Republicans. Heck, a U.S. congressman, picks up 79% of the GOP vote and 10% of Democrats. He also holds a 10-point lead among voters not affiliated with either major party.

Heck who withdrew his support from GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump after the airing of an 11-year-old video showing Trump making graphic sexual comments about women has lost ground among Republicans since last month. Cortez Masto has gained support among Democrats and unaffiliateds

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The survey of 826 Likely Voters in Nevada was conducted on September October 20-22, 2016 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Hillary Clinton now holds a four-point lead over Trump in Nevada. Trump held a 42% to 39% lead last month.

Heck leads among men, while Cortez Masto has a double-digit advantage among women. The GOP candidate led among all age groups in September but now is ahead only among middle-aged voters.

Cortez Masto is well ahead among both blacks and Hispanics. Heck has smaller leads among whites and other minority voters.

Forty-three percent (43%) of all Nevada voters view Cortez Masto favorably, while 49% share an unfavorable opinion of her. This includes 21% with a Very Favorable view and 29% with a Very Unfavorable one.

For Heck, favorables are 42%, unfavorables 51%, with 19% who hold a Very Favorable opinion and 31% who view him Very Unfavorably.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters in the state approve of the job Republican Governor Brian Sandoval is doing, with 17% who Strongly Approve. Just 28% disapprove, but that includes only nine percent (9%) who Strongly Disapprove.

Voters won't be sorry to see Reid go, and that includes members of his own party. Reid was in the Senate for 30 years and spent eight years as Senate majority leader.

Trump is calling for term limits on members of Congress even though his party currently controls both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Voters agree more strongly than ever with the need for term limits but also still doubt Congress will go along with them.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

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