The road to the White House this November passes through some crucial states, including Nevada, whose six Electoral College votes will be crucial in deciding who gets the keys to the White House.
The state’s vast rural areas are strongly Republican-leaning and would completely cancel out the predominantly Democratic vote in gambling capital Las Vegas.
The state’s final electoral color will depend on Washoe County, a long, thin strip of land bordering California whose main city is Reno.
Here are some key facts about Washoe County:
Electoral harmony
Overall, Nevada remains balanced and has voted both Republican and Democratic in line with the national mood for the past four decades, except in 2016 when the state voted for Hillary Clinton, who lost to winner Donald Trump.
In 2020, Joe Biden carried the state by just 33,000 votes more than Trump.
With about half a million people, Washoe is home to just 16 percent of Nevada’s population. By comparison, Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, has more than four times as many people.
But Washoe punches way above her weight.
“This ultimately determines how Nevada votes in national elections,” political scientist Fred Loken told AFP.
A look at the voter rolls shows why: Independents make up 30.8 percent of registered voters, while Republicans make up 31.4 percent and Democrats make up 29.8 percent.
However, unlike their fellow Americans, Nevadans unhappy with the selection of Trump or Kamala Harris can simply vote for “none of these candidates” — which is an official option on the ballot.
Quick divorce
Washoe County is bordered by the rugged Sierra Nevada Mountains. Its desert expanse is home to the annual Burning Man festival, but most of the population is concentrated in its capital, Reno.
The self-proclaimed “Biggest Little City in the World” was the divorce capital of America for much of the 20th century, flocking to the city from other parts of the country eager to end unhappy marriages with a minimum of fuss.
It may have historically been easy to get segregated in Washoe. However, getting to Nevada’s famously legal brothels will require a drive: Washoe is one of a handful of counties in the state where prostitution is not permitted.
Battery Power
Electric car giant Tesla built a gigafactory — a massive manufacturing facility for electrification and other high-tech EV technology — outside Reno in 2014, kicking off a green energy industrial revolution in Washoe.
Panasonic and Google followed suit, and the region is now home to a booming high-technology and manufacturing sector, aided by attractive tax incentives.
Technology companies, many of which relocated from high-tax California, brought with them well-paying jobs, reducing the county’s dependence on tourism.
The influx of tech workers could change Washoe’s political makeup.
“This workforce is predominantly male and in their twenties,” Loken said.
He added, “If they do vote, it’s more likely they won’t vote Republican” — and “that could push us as a state into the blue column.”
The Latino Vote
The other aspect of this gentrification is that it has put pressure on some of the poor people of the state.
The median price of a single-family home in Washoe County is now $550,000, double what it was a decade ago.
Although Californians think it’s cheap, rapid price increases have put housing out of reach for many locals.
Nearly a quarter of Washoe’s population is Latino, a group that has suffered disproportionately from casino closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and which is highly concentrated in low-wage jobs.
As in other parts of the country, persistent inflation has made life difficult for those who were already living in precarious economic conditions.
While Latinos in the West have traditionally voted Democratic, there are growing signs of dissatisfaction with the party, at least in part due to rising cost-of-living concerns.
This could be good news for Trump.
However, the Democratic Party has the full support of the Culinary Union, which represents casino and hotel workers in the state, and is conducting extensive door-to-door campaigning to get out the vote.
“Over the last 20 years, this has been the most effective political weapon Democrats have in Nevada,” Loken said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
