Honestly, if you looked at the polls leading up to November 2024, you probably expected a mess. Everyone did. Nevada has this reputation for being "purple," but it’s more like a bruised landscape where the colors shift depending on which street corner in Las Vegas you're standing on. When the Nevada state election results finally got certified in December, the numbers told a story of a state that is deeply divided, yet strangely consistent in its contradictions.
Trump took the state. Rosen kept her seat.
It sounds like a glitch in the matrix, right? But that’s Nevada for you. We’re currently sitting in early 2026, looking back at a cycle that basically rewrote the playbook for how "split-ticket" voting works in the West. It wasn't just a fluke; it was a deliberate choice by voters who seem to like their government like they like their poker games—varied and unpredictable.
The Big Shift: Trump’s Silver State Comeback
For the first time since 2004, a Republican presidential candidate carried Nevada. Donald Trump didn't just squeak by; he pulled 50.6% of the vote, leaving Kamala Harris at 47.5%. That’s a gap of about 46,000 votes. If you're wondering how that happened in a state that went for Biden and Clinton, you've gotta look at the margins in Clark County.
Usually, a Democrat needs to "wallop" the GOP in Vegas to offset the "Red Sea" of the rural counties. Harris won Clark, but only by about 2.6 points. For context, Biden won it by over 9 points in 2020. People were feeling the squeeze of housing costs and inflation, and the "No Tax on Tips" promise—which both candidates eventually adopted—seemed to resonate more coming from the right. It’s wild to think about, but the traditional Democratic stronghold of the hospitality unions didn't deliver the same punch this time around.
How Jacky Rosen Defied the Gravity of the Top Ticket
While Trump was celebrating, Jacky Rosen was busy proving that being "low-key" is actually a superpower. She beat Sam Brown 47.9% to 46.2%. It was close—about 24,000 votes—but in the world of Nevada politics, a win is a win.
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So, how did she do it when her party's presidential nominee lost?
- The Funding Gap: Rosen’s campaign was a juggernaut. She spent roughly $120 per voter. That is an insane amount of money.
- The "Nevada-First" Brand: She leaned hard into her 50 years in the state compared to Brown’s six. In a state that’s growing fast, "New Nevadan" vs. "Old Nevadan" is a real tension.
- The Split-Ticket Factor: Over 74,000 people who voted for Trump simply didn't vote for Sam Brown. They either left it blank or picked someone else.
Rosen essentially outran Harris by nearly 5 percentage points. She held onto the moderate suburbanites in Summerlin and Reno who were tired of the "MAGA" brand but still wanted someone they perceived as a steady hand in the Senate.
Direct Democracy: Abortion, Voter ID, and Ranked Choice
Nevadans love a good ballot question. We had seven of them in 2024, and the results were... well, they were very "Nevada."
Question 6: Reproductive Rights
This passed with a massive 64.4% of the vote. It wasn't even close. Even in some of the redder parts of the state, people came out to enshrine abortion rights in the constitution. Since it’s a constitutional amendment, it has to pass again in 2026 to become permanent. That’s going to be a massive focal point for the midterm cycle we’re heading into right now.
Question 7: Voter ID
This was the sleeper hit of the election. 73.2% of voters said "yes" to requiring a photo ID to vote. This cut across every demographic. It turns out that while people might disagree on candidates, a vast majority of Nevadans—including a lot of Democrats—think showing an ID is just common sense.
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Question 3: The Failed Experiment?
The push for Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) died a quiet death. It lost with 53% "No." People found it confusing. In a state where we already have "None of These Candidates" on the ballot, adding another layer of complexity felt like a bridge too far for most.
The Congressional Hold
While the top of the ticket was flipping, the House of Representatives stayed exactly the same. All four incumbents won.
- Dina Titus (D-Dist 1): Won with 52%. She’s the "Queen of Las Vegas" for a reason.
- Mark Amodei (R-Dist 2): Crushed it with 55%. Northern Nevada remains his fortress.
- Susie Lee (D-Dist 3): Won a tight one at 51.4%. This is always one of the most expensive districts in the country.
- Steven Horsford (D-Dist 4): Secured 52.7%.
Basically, the status quo held firm in D.C., even as the state's internal tectonic plates were shifting.
What This Means for 2026 and Beyond
We are now staring down the 2026 midterms. Governor Joe Lombardo is up for reelection, and the latest polls from late 2025 show him in a dead heat with Attorney General Aaron Ford. It’s a 41-41 tie, basically.
Lombardo has a massive war chest—we’re talking seven times more money than his challengers. But he’s also dealing with an "underwater" approval rating for some of the state's federal leaders. The Nevada state election results from 2024 proved that voters here don't care about "party loyalty" as much as they care about individual results.
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If you want to stay ahead of the curve for the upcoming 2026 cycle, there are a few things you should be doing right now.
First, keep an eye on the fundraising reports coming out this March. Money doesn't always buy a win (ask Sam Brown), but in a state as expensive to advertise in as Nevada, it's the lifeblood of a campaign. Second, watch the "Question 6" second-round campaign. It’s going to drive turnout in a way that could help Democrats offset Lombardo’s popularity.
Finally, pay attention to the "No Tax on Tips" implementation. Since it’s 2026, we’re seeing how these federal policies are actually hitting the paychecks of the people on the Strip. If the "Trump Economy" hasn't delivered the relief people expected by the time they hit the booths this November, those 2024 results might look like a temporary detour rather than a permanent right turn.
To get involved or stay informed, you can:
- Check your current voter registration status through the Nevada Secretary of State portal.
- Review the 2026 candidate filings starting in March to see who is actually challenging the incumbents.
- Look at the specific language for the 2026 version of Question 6 to understand exactly what you're voting on for the second time.
The 2024 results weren't an ending; they were a massive "To Be Continued" written in neon.