BATTLEGROUND SERIES: Key swing state's 6 electoral votes hinge on candidate performances in this county

LAS VEGAS - The election results in Clark County, Nevada, will play a critical role in deciding which presidential candidate takes home the state’s 6 electoral votes in a county where independent voters and party switchers could make the difference.

There are roughly 1.4 million active registered voters in Clark County, Nevada, including about 450,000 Democrats, 350,000 Republicans and more than 500,000 voters who identify as nonpartisan, Independent, or Libertarian, which makes up about 70% of the voters in the state of Nevada.

Former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won Clark County by 10 points in 2016, and President Biden won by about the same margin in 2020. The Democratic candidates won Nevada overall those years by less than three points, and former Presidnet Donald Trump’s ability to narrow the gap in Clark County will play a key role in his chances to become the first Republican to win Nevada since former President George W. Bush in 2004.

Union workers employed by hotel casinos in Las Vegas, who work for unions that typically endorse and canvas for Democrats, play a significant role in Clark County elections.

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Fox News Digital spoke with two of those union members earlier this month, when both said that housing costs are a key issue for them.

"I will be a first-time home buyer. I want to keep my son in a house…I don’t want to be rent to rent, that’s one of the biggest issues right now here I would say in Nevada," Lino Paredes, a member of the Culinary Workers Union which endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, said, adding that he supports Harris’ proposed program to help with down payments for houses. 

"And then, with these prices, you know, price gouging from these corporations. They’re not helping us at all, so we’re asking, and we’re looking for someone that is willing to help…she’s a very talented woman, and so I think that she will lead this country."

Nevada GOP Chair Michael McDonald recently told Fox News Digital that the enthusiasm for the Republican ticket in Nevada, specifically Clark County, is more than he has ever seen and suggested that Trump will be successful courting union voters with his platform that includes eliminating taxes on tips. 

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"I think the energy has risen," McDonald said. "You could call for a rally, you're talking about 5,000 people who get turned away because there's just no room. You're talking about people that when you call for volunteers, they're all over the place. Our walkers, we don't have just members. We have teams that are going out which we've never seen before."

Jon Ralston, CEO and editor of The Nevada Independent, told Spectrum News 1 that Trump’s position on taxing tips could be significant in Clark County.

"Trump is really using that as his signature issue here," Ralston said. "If he can penetrate past the leadership, into the rank-and-file, and divide them a little bit, that could cut down the Democratic margin in Clark County and that's how he could win the state." 

"And you know, the Democrats, they have union workers that are being paid to walk out as volunteers. And we have teams now that you've never seen before. So the energy and enthusiasm is right in our wheelhouse."

Early voting in Nevada began last weekend, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that out of the voters who cast their ballots on the first day in Clark County, 49.2% were Republicans, 30.5% were Democrats and 20.2% were Independents. 

On Thursday, Ralston reported that Republicans have a statewide early voting lead of 17,000 in Nevada, with Democrats leading in Clark County by just under 7,000.

In addition to the presidential race, Clark County will also play a key role in determining who the next senator of Nevada is, as incumbent Jacky Rosen faces a challenger from Republican war veteran Sam Brown. 

Fox News Digital recently reported that Brown has narrowed the gap with Rosen with less than two weeks to go before Election Day. 

"The number-one issue that folks have been worried about for the last couple of years has been the economy and how this Biden-Harris economy has put so much pressure on individuals, on families," Brown recently told Fox News Digital at an event with GOP Sen. John Kennedy in Las Vegas.

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The Hispanic vote is also expected to play a large role in determining the success of both presidential candidates in Clark County.

Democratic campaigns and affiliated groups have poured nearly $3.5 million into Spanish language TV ads in Nevada, far surpassing the money Republicans have spent on similar ads, NBC News reported.

"They’re crucial at every level of the ticket," Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha told the outlet regarding the Hispanic vote.

Polling shows Trump making historic gains with Hispanic voters compared to previous Republican candidates. Fox News Digital spoke to attendees at a pro-Trump Latino outreach event in Clark County earlier this month, and several Hispanic voters discussed how illegal immigration is an important issue for them.

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"Between the drugs, the human trafficking, and now the millions of illegal immigrants that we have crossing over that we have not vetted or that have actually been charged for murder in other countries," Lydia Dominguez, a Clark County resident, told Fox News Digital. "So it's alarming what's happening at the border."

The Real Clear Politics average of polling between Trump and Harris shows Trump with a slim lead of less than a percentage point as both candidates and their surrogates have made multiple trips to Nevada in recent weeks.