Sandoval Running Away with it Down the Stretch

(Rasmussen Reports) – With one week to go, Republican Brian Sandoval leads Democrat Rory Reid by more than 20 points in Nevada’s governor race.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Nevada shows Sandoval, a former federal judge, with a 58% to 35% lead over Reid, chairman of the Clark County Board of Commissioners and son of embattled Senator Harry Reid. Five percent (5%) prefer another candidate in the race, and two percent (2%) are undecided.

The race, as it has for months, remains Solid Republican in the Rasmussen Reports Election 2010 Gubernatorial Scorecard.

A little over a week ago, Sandoval posted a 56% to 37% lead. Reid has never been close in this race, trailing Sandoval by double digit margins in surveys since February.

The survey of 750 Likely Voters in Nevada was conducted on October 25, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Despite President Obama’s weekend visit to the state to boost the candidacy of Reid’s father, Republican Sharron Angle remains slightly ahead in Nevada’s U.S. Senate race – for the fourth survey in a row.

Ninety-three percent (93%) of Nevada Republicans now support Sandoval, while Reid has the backing of just 74% of the state’s Democrats. The Republican hopeful leads by more than 40 points among voters not affiliated with either of the major parties.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of all Nevada voters have a favorable opinion of Sandoval, while 33% regard him unfavorably. This includes 29% with a Very Favorable view of the GOP candidate and 16% with a Very Unfavorable one.

For Reid, favorables are 40% and unfavorables 56%, including 21% Very Favorable and 43% Very Unfavorable.

Nevada has been wracked with one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, and voters are closely divided over whether that’s likely to change in the near future. Twenty-eight percent (28%) expect unemployment to be even higher one year from today, while 29% think it will be lower. Thirty-seven percent (37%) predict it will stay about the same.

Twenty-two percent (22%) of the state’s voters consider themselves members of the Tea Party movement, slightly higher than participation nationally. Sixty-five percent (65%) do not, but another 13% are not sure.

Sandoval carries 95% of the Tea Party vote. Reid holds a 49% to 42% lead among non-members.

Eighty percent (80%) of all the state’s voters say when it comes to how they will vote, a candidate’s position on the issues is more important than his or her personal character. Only 17% rate personal character as more important.

Forty-three percent (43%) of Nevada voters now approve of the job being done by Governor Jim Gibbons, who was defeated by Sandoval in the state GOP Primary. Fifty-five percent (55%) disapprove of his job performance.