A UNLV professor says many Nevada races can be a shocker

Las Vegas, Nev. (FOX5) – Many races in Nevada’s 2022 election could go “red” or “blue” because of tight poll margins, according to a UNLV professor.

Assistant Professor Kenneth Miller is tracking the high-profile U.S. Senate race between incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Adam Laxalt, which was the most expensive race in Nevada history at $180 million to $190 million, he said. Across the Valley, many other congressional races are also highly competitive.

“There is a very good chance of a red wave at the national level. As far as the “Red Tide” in the state of Nevada, this is less likely. It looks like all of these races will be very, very close. That means any Republican can win these competitive races, or any Democrat can only barely win,” Miller said.

“The polls can really only tell you how close the race is within four or five points. And even that seems to be that the polls are very well done and they have very good samples. In a race that’s likely to be come a few points, the polls don’t tell you who’s going to win,” Miller said.

As in 2020, due to the increased popularity of mail-in ballots, it can take from week to week to determine some of the strongest races, Miller said.

Inclement weather may not interfere with most in-person voting efforts.

“Most ballots should be cast before election day. So it’s only a small section of the electorate that actually goes to vote,” he said. According to the Nevada Secretary of State, 158,000 people voted in person on Election Day. 578,000 people voted early and 672,000 people voted in absentia.

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