Election 2020 Analysis Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events.
Entrance polls from the 2020 Nevada Democratic caucuses
Election results from the Nevada caucuses
Who’s winning each group
Groups that candidates are winning by six or more percentage points
Final Nevada entrance poll results are below.
[Election results from the Nevada caucuses]
Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vt.) strong support among liberals, younger voters and supporters of single-payer health care is fueling his advantage in initial support among Nevada caucus-goers, according to the entrance poll results.
Hispanic support lifts Sanders in Nevada
The Nevada caucuses mark the first Democratic contest in which a sizable share of the electorate is nonwhite, and preliminary entrance polling showed Hispanic caucus-goers heavily supported Sanders over other Democratic candidates, while former vice president Joe Biden had a narrow advantage over Sanders among black voters. The entrance poll found 50 percent of Hispanic caucus-goers supported Sanders as their first preference, about three times as much support of his nearest rival, Biden, who was supported by 17 percent of Hispanics. All other candidates were at 11 percent or below among Hispanics.
Most prioritized beating Trump, but are scattered in their support
By a roughly 2 to 1 margin, early entrance polling found more Nevada caucus-goers said they would prefer a candidate who can beat Trump over someone who agrees with them on major issues. But electability-focused voters were deeply divided in their initial support heading into caucus locations, with 24 percent supporting Sanders; 21 percent for Biden; 18 percent of caucus-goers supporting former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg; and Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Elizabeth Warren in the low teens of support (13 percent and 12 percent, respectively).
That is a stark contrast to the 32 percent of voters who preferred a candidate that agrees with them on major issues; a small 54 percent majority of this group supported Sanders, while other candidates at most were in the low teens with this group.
Sanders leads among supporters of single-payer health care
A clear 62 percent majority supported Sanders’s signature policy of replacing all private health insurance with a single government plan for everyone, and Sanders dominated with this group. Support was scattered among opponents of single-payer health care, with Biden supported by about 3 in 10, Buttigieg by about 1 in 4 of these voters, and Klobuchar garnering 1 in 6.
Results show the strengths and weaknesses of each Democratic candidate, according to a survey of voters as they entered randomly selected caucus sites across the state.
Each candidate’s five most and least supportive groups
Entrance poll results are shown below. Candidates who won a demographic group by six or more percentage points are highlighted.
Full results
Kevin Schaul contributed to this report. Candidate illustrations by Ben Kirchner.
Methodology
These are final results from a survey of 2,784 voters as they entered randomly selected voting sites during the early caucus period as well as on caucus day, Feb. 22. The poll was conducted by Edison Media Research for the National Election Pool, The Washington Post and other media organizations. Results for typical characteristics have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Originally published Feb. 22, 2020.
