Common ground: Survey shows Nevadans agree on more than you might think

With the Nov. 5 election just a week away, the onslaught of divisive rhetoric from campaigns might make Nevadans feel more divided than ever, but a survey of swing states found there’s a lot that Republicans and Democrats agree on.

The University of Maryland’s Program for Public Consultation at the School of Public Policy conducted a series of surveys in Nevada and other swing states including Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the months leading up to the election.

Surveys asked respondents — about 600 in each swing state — about real policy proposals and presented them with arguments for and against, and they allowed respondents to make recommendations from the perspective of a policy maker. Those surveyed found agreements on over 50 policy positions.

“I think we were really kind of surprised at how much common ground we found,” said Steven Kull, director of the Program for Public Consultation, during a Tuesday press call about the survey.

Housing

On housing, the majority of Nevadans surveyed favored providing $40 billion to build or repair homes for low-income households. They also supported up to $25,000 in down payment assistance for first-time homebuyers, though Republicans in Nevada were divided, with only 53 percent supporting it.

Nevadans expressed more support than other swing states when it came to policies on corporate landlords. Seventy-one percent of Nevadans (63 percent Republicans and 78 percent Democrats) favored requiring large corporations to sell all their single-family homes within the next 10 years or pay a substantial financial penalty. They also supported prohibiting large corporations from receiving tax deductions related to their ownership of properties.

Children and families

Regarding policies on children and families, about 63 percent of Nevadans surveyed favored the federal government providing a $6,000 tax credit to parents with infants under the age of 1 year old.

The federal government providing $25 billion to states for free universal preschool received overwhelming support among battleground states, with 80 percent of Nevadans surveyed supporting it.

Sixty-nine percent of Nevadans supported a 12-week paid family and medical leave program for all workers, though Nevada Republicans were statistically divided, with 52 percent supporting it.

Abortion and birth control

On abortion and birth control, battleground states found common ground when it came to access and education about birth control and whether to make abortion a crime. The respondents in battleground states opposed making abortion a crime. In Nevada, 69 percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Democrats were in agreement.

Battleground states also supported making abortion policy a federal law that applies to all states, though Nevada saw the lowest percent in agreement at 64 percent, with 48 percent of Republicans supporting it.

An overwhelming majority of Nevadans surveyed supported continuing to require health insurance to cover birth control and requiring public schools to provide education about birth control.

Immigration

The majority of Nevadans surveyed supported hiring more border patrol agents and providing more funding for surveillance.

For immigrants without legal status, 58 percent of the U.S. surveyed favor a path to citizenship over mass deportation, with that number higher in Nevada at 65 percent (77 percent Democrats and 55 percent Republicans).

Kull said it was explained to those surveyed that the immigrants were not criminals and have been in the U.S. for years.

Health care

On health care, Nevadans favored capping drug prices to the amount charged in other developed countries. They supported making higher Affordable Care Act subsidies permanent, and they favored revoking patents for high-priced drugs that are developed with federal funds. Nevadans also supported bringing more generic drugs to market by banning “pay-to-delay” deals, and they supported requiring price transparency for most health products.

Battleground states also widely supported funding substance abuse treatment to make it available to all who want it, though Nevada had the lowest favorability with 65 percent in support.

International policy

A lot of agreement was found when it came to international policy. The swing states, including Nevada, supported upholding the principle of collective security that says when one country is attacked, other countries should band together and repel that aggression, Kull said.

The majority surveyed favored the U.S. continuing its membership with NATO. The swing states also supported continuing military aid to Ukraine, though Nevada saw the lowest support. Half of the Nevada Republicans surveyed agreed, and 78 percent of the Democratic responders agreed.

The majority of those surveyed in the swing states favored continuing to have low tariffs, though they supported the U.S. continuing to impose high tariffs on China.

Nevadans also supported continuing a moratorium on nuclear testing.

Social Security

Relating to Social Security, respondents were informed about the Social Security Trust Fund’s shortfall and the consequences if it is not addressed, and they were presented with multiple options for addressing it. The majority of the respondents supported making all wages over $400,000 subject to the payroll tax, and they also favored gradually raising the retirement age to 68 by 2033.

Trading stocks

The majority of those surveyed also supported prohibiting members of Congress and live-in family members from trading stocks, as well as the president, vice president and Supreme Court justices.

Energy

On energy, the majority of Nevadans supported keeping the tax credit for new electric vehicles, and they opposed increasing offshore drilling.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.