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The sounds of blasting and bulldozing in the hills overlooking Las Vegas are proof change is a constant here, with the new $5 million homes evidence of the vibrant, upscale demand.
It is progress, longtime Las Vegas real estate agent Zoila Sanchez says, as she points out new construction from the patio of her own home in suburban Henderson. But it is also a reminder of a major economic and political issue here.
Rents are on the rise, and starter homes are scarce. The wealthy can find what they want – or build it – but working-class families face a housing crunch.
“Prices are extremely high – the highest they’ve ever been,” Sanchez said in an interview. “And with interest rates being really high, the affordability is not there for a lot of people.”
Sanchez says a Federal Reserve interest rate cut would help, and she is counting on one soon not only to help her business and local families but also her candidate for president: Kamala Harris.
“She’s a very smart lady,” Sanchez said of the vice president. “She talks to me. She just says everything that I need to hear.”
That’s coming from a self-described Reagan Republican who hopes to one day soon vote GOP for president again. But not with Donald Trump atop the ticket.
“I’ve never liked anything about him,” Sanchez said of the former president. “Nothing. The way he speaks. What he represents. … You know, that we immigrants are the worst. That we are coming from mental institutions and jails and everything else. Which is not true.”
Trump narrowly lost Nevada in both 2016 and 2020. Sanchez concedes she hears more support for him this time among Latino voters, especially men.
“I want to understand it,” she said. “And I can’t. I realty can’t. … I think it is kind of a macho thing.”
When we first met last December, Sanchez was ready to vote a second time for Joe Biden, mostly because of her animus toward Trump. Now, she says she is excited to vote for Harris. “If we get to elect the first women president, I mean, I just get chills to witness history,” she said.
Sanchez is confident, insisting the energy she sees for Harris outweighs the increased Trump talk among fellow Hispanics.
“I know that Hispanics have made a difference in a lot of elections, and I can see it right now,” Sanchez said.
Rogelio Regalado and Rafael Cerros Jr. are not so sure.
Close friends, Regalado and Cerros took a risk in 2020 – in the middle of the pandemic – and launched a local radio station, Fiesta 98.1. Their little startup is now No. 2 in a competitive Vegas Spanish language market.
Cerros works the business side and says he is undecided in the presidential race at the moment.
Regalado is the afternoon drive-time host, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and describes himself as leaning Harris but eager to see her work harder for the Hispanic vote.
“I feel the Democrats take the Hispanic vote for granted here in Vegas or in Nevada,” Cerros said. “We are one-third of the population. Last time I checked, it’s like 23% of voter registration.”
The station has a weekend political show, and the campaign sometimes also comes up during the week when listeners call in to discuss music or compete for prizes. Plus the station is often represented at local events.
“I see people on social media, Hispanics, sharing that post ‘I’m not with Her.’ I’m, like, wow,” Regalado said.
Cerros added: “A lot of people are calling me, or calling us – Latinos, you know, talking about voting for Trump.”
Both said the economy is by far the biggest reason people they know who were solid Democrats are at least open to supporting Trump.
“It is 100% that,” Cerros said.
Nevada was crushed during the Covid pandemic because it is so reliant on tourism. The state had the highest pandemic unemployment rate, at one point just shy of 31% – more than twice the national average. The statistics now are clear: the jobs are back, and then some. But the bruises linger, and working families trying to put the pandemic stress behind them have faced housing and inflation pressures.
“We have seen the record numbers at the casinos,” Regalado said. “But some businesses are struggling still.”
Cerros said Fiesta 98.1’s advertisers are mostly small, Latino-owned businesses. “A lot of small businesses are struggling,” he said. “It’s not 100% yet, to where it was. Especially with inflation.”
Zena Hajji presents a different problem for Harris.
Muslims are just a tiny slice of Nevada’s population, but every vote and constituency matter in a battleground settled by 33,596 votes four years ago.
“A lot of Muslims are angry they are being somehow — and I would say, unfortunately — partner to the issues that are happening abroad,” Hajji said in an interview at her Henderson home.
“I don’t want my tax dollars to be able to hurt people, especially when I work so hard to focus on helping people here,” Hajji said.
The 21-year-old Democrat, who’s a proud daughter of Moroccan immigrants, stands with Harris on just about every issue. But the Biden administration’s support of Israel as the conflict with Hamas drags on leaves Hajji pondering a third-party vote or just skipping the presidential line on the ballot.
“Why would you keep voting for a group of people that promises no more bombs, no more pain, peace in the Middle East,” Hajji said, noting that those vows haven’t held up. She said Harris is more explicit than Biden in calling for an end to the killing of Palestinian civilians, but that words are not enough.
“We just need a ceasefire,” she said. “That’s it. We just need it to stop. … We are tired. We are very, very tired. And we don’t know what to do with our votes right now.”
Antonio Munoz is a man of contagious optimism. A veteran, retired police officer and now the owner of the 911 Taco Bar in El Mercado, a former JC Penny department store that now houses dozens of Hispanic small businesses.
When we first met last December, he was undecided in the presidential race and unhappy with the prospect of a Biden-Trump rematch. In that meeting, he bet neither Trump nor Biden would be on the ballot in the end. He was half right.
Leaning Harris is where Munoz is now – intrigued and excited but also still frustrated he cannot find more specifics about her promise to help small businesses like his.
“I’ve been checking her website and you read it, but it’s not specific,” Munoz said. “We do need to move forward. We need a different plan to get over the hump with this inflation that has caused severe damage to a lot of businesses. … She needs to be more direct.”
A scorching summer was the latest challenge, stifling the catering business critical to Munoz’s bottom line.
“We had over 30 days of 110 degrees,” Munoz said. “So we had a lot of cancellations because people didn’t want to be outside.”
Now he sees a competitive election as a pause button.
“Because people are afraid to go out and spend,” he said. “They don’t know what to expect when it comes around to a new administration.”
Evidence of new energy for Harris begins at home for Munoz. He says his wife is excited, and that he shares her view that there is inspiration in the vice president’s story.
“She came up with immigrant parents, which to me, it’s amazing for someone like that to come up and be able to be president,” Munoz said. “It’s a hit for people.”
He also has no patience when Trump slams immigrants or berates the country he wants to lead.
“One of the things that hurts me the most is for him to talk down America,” Munoz said. “America is a world leader. We have always been. … We’re the best. No matter who is there. The people make it the best.”
But Munoz said many friends and others he encounters at community events are nostalgic for the pre-Covid economy and think that Trump is a better choice for their bottom line. Nevada also elected a Republican governor in 2022, and Munoz believes that makes it more hospitable climate for Trump this year.
“He has grown,” Munoz said of the former president’s support among Hispanics. “I have friends that were Democrats who have turned the page. They feel that the country is not going in the right direction.”
Harris, though, is more competitive than Biden would have been and Munoz predicts a Nevada nailbiter.
“It’s a 50-50 tossup,” he said. “They need to be out here with a direct message and talking to the voters out here. I really think it is 50-50 right now. It is tight.”
