According to a poll by Bendixen & Amandi International commissioned by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the majority of respondents support Question 2, which would legalize cannabis for recreational use in the state, but only by a slim 47 percent to 43 percent margin with 10 percent undecided or declining to answer.
The Journal is owned by the family of Sheldon Adelson, the casino mogul who has donated $1 million each to the anti-campaigns in both Massachusetts and Nevada.
Democrats favored the measure 54 percent to 34 percent, along with 51 percent of independents with 34 percent opposed. The majority, 58 percent, of Republicans oppose the initiative, with just 35 percent in support. The percentage of respondents backing the initiative has not changed from a poll conducted last month by the same firm, and opposition lost three points to the undecided camp. However, according to Anthony Williams, special projects director for Bendixen & Amandi, with no increase in pledged support, and still trending below 50 percent, advocates should be “nervous.”
“At this late day, it’s usually unlikely to convince a bunch of people to vote yes,” he said in the report. “That 10 percent could easily vote no or skip the question entirely.”
Due to the stark contrast in opinion between voters registered with the major parties, the success of the measure will likely depend on voter turnout on Election Day. According to the report, 24,000 more Democrats have voted in the first four days of early voting in the state than Republicans.
Nevada joins California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Arizona with voter-backed recreational cannabis legalization initiatives on general election ballots.
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