President Biden campaigns in Las Vegas' Historic Westside

U.S. President Joe Biden brought his bid for re-election to Nevada voters on Sunday as part of a two-day visit to the 2024 battleground state leading up to Tuesday's Democratic primary. During his visit, the president participated in two campaign events in Nevada, a state with just over 3 million residents, predominantly concentrated in the bustling gambling and entertainment hub of Las Vegas.

Biden's itinerary included a visit to the historic Westside, located northwest of the Las Vegas Strip, where Black Americans, grappling with segregation a century ago, established their own casinos and clubs. On Nevada's Democratic presidential primary ballot, Biden shares space with self-help author Marianne Williamson and a few lesser-known challengers. U.S. Representative Dean Phillips of Minnesota did not meet the filing deadline and will not appear on the ballot.

In the 2020 election, Biden narrowly defeated his Republican rival Donald Trump in Nevada by a margin of 33,596 votes, or less than 3%. Opinion polls suggest that a potential rematch between the two in the upcoming election would be closely contested. Approximately 30% of Nevada's population identifies as Latino or Hispanic according to the U.S. Census, and Republicans are making efforts to gain support among these voters nationwide.

Although Republicans are also holding a primary in Nevada on February 6, former President Trump has chosen to participate in a February 8 caucus in the state, and thus, will not be on the ballot. The state's latest figures indicate around 705,000 registered Democrats, 646,000 registered Republicans, and nearly 768,000 nonpartisan voters.

In the upcoming Republican and Democratic primaries, voters will also have the option to choose "None of these candidates." Looking ahead to November, Nevada will have six Electoral College votes at stake in the presidential election, contributing to the 270 votes needed for victory.

With the election drawing nearer, President Biden and his team are traversing the United States to discuss the resilient economy, the impact of the president's clean energy tax incentives, labor union support, and infrastructure investments. Biden emphasized the importance of victory, stating, "We have to win. I give you my word, we have to. There's not much of a choice here."

In December, Biden visited Las Vegas to highlight a new high-speed rail project connecting the city to Los Angeles. Additionally, last March, the Biden administration designated a new national park, Avi Kwa Ame, named after Spirit Mountain in the Mojave language, located in southern Nevada. This site holds cultural significance for Native American tribes like the Paiute and Chemehuevi and serves as a habitat for the desert bighorn sheep, desert tortoise, and Joshua tree forest.

In recent weeks, President Biden has intensified his direct criticism of Trump, portraying him as a threat to democracy and raising questions about his mental acuity. The president has faced persistently low approval ratings. Biden's campaign strategy involves transferring senior White House staff to the campaign, indicating the belief that Trump will ultimately secure the Republican nomination, despite competition from former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.

Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for the Trump campaign, countered by stating, "Americans are sick and tired of the last four years of destructive policies that have brought nothing but pain and misery across the country."