Las Vegas, N.V. — A new poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, or PPP, and commissioned by the Center for American Progress shows that nearly three-fourths of likely Nevada caucus goers say that it is important that the next president focus on improving the economic security of working families by prioritizing policies such as equal pay, paid sick days, paid family leave, and child care. Thirty-seven percent of likely Hispanic caucus goers in Nevada listed this as their single most important priority for the next president—by far the highest level of support for this issue of any ethnic group tested.
This week, CAP also released a new fact sheet that focuses on ways to improve economic security for Nevada families. It features a new calculation finding that if women had not increased their labor force participation between 1963 and 2013, inequality in the state would be 8 percent higher today. To further promote women’s economic security, the fact sheet notes, Nevada’s policies should address the needs of working mothers and reflect the roles that women are playing to provide for their families.
“Working parents in Nevada are just like millions of others across the country—working hard, juggling one or more jobs alongside family responsibilities, and trying to make a better life for their children. But without policies to support them—such as affordable child care, accessible pre-K, and paid sick and family leave—working parents have to make impossible decisions, and our communities and our economy suffer,” said Neera Tanden, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress. “Caucus goers in Nevada want to see presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle provide substantive solutions for the issues facing working families.”
“This poll makes it very clear that Nevada caucus-goers are looking for presidential candidates to prioritize policies—such as affordable childcare—for working families in this election,” said Jim Williams, issue polling specialist at PPP. “This is particularly the case for Nevada women and Hispanic voters who overwhelmingly favor these policies across the board.”
According to PPP, key findings from the survey include:
- All four pro-family policies tested in the poll were overwhelmingly well received by Nevada caucus-goers. Equal pay for women received 73 percent support; paid sick days received 75 percent support; paid family leave/leave insurance received 61 percent support; and access to child care received 59 percent support.
- Seventy-two percent of likely caucus-goers said that it is important that the next president focus on improving the economic security of working families by prioritizing policies such as affordable child care and paid family leave.
- This is particularly true amongst likely Hispanic caucus-goers. Thirty-seven percent of Hispanic voters polled listed this as their single most important priority for the next president, while 51 percent of Hispanic voters said that it was either their most important priority or one of a few very important priorities.
- Underlying Nevadans’ support for pro-family policies is a shared sentiment that working families are overburdened with high costs and lack of access to affordable services. Nevada voters agree that child care is too expensive and out of reach financially for working families by a 27-point margin, and a majority at 51 percent say that today’s families are facing a child care crisis.
- Also behind caucus-goers’ support is a belief that pro-family policies go hand in hand with promoting economic growth. Fifty-seven percent of Nevada voters say that access to affordable, high-quality child care and pre-kindergarten are not just kids issues, they are necessities for middle-class families and our economy.
PPP surveyed 616 likely Republican and Democratic caucus-goers in Nevada on February 10–11, 2016. The margin of error is +/-4 percent, and the poll was conducted by automated telephone interviews. Click here to see the full poll results, as well as the polling memo.
As the nation looks toward its next slate of leaders in 2016, CAP launched the WithinReach campaign in November 2015 to elevate and create momentum around the need to put high-quality child care and pre-K within reach for kids, families, and the economy. Last year, CAP also released a new proposal that would provide a High-Quality Child Care Tax Credit to help low-income and middle-class families afford child care. The proposal would expand child care access to roughly 6 million children younger than age 5 in the United States, increasing the current service level more than fourfold while supporting financial security for working families. In 2013, CAP released a proposal to make high-quality preschool universally accessible to all 3-year-old and 4-year-old children—legislation that has since been introduced in Congress as the Strong Start for America’s Children Act.
The WithinReach campaign’s website, WithinReachCampaign.org, features an interactive map showing how out of reach child care and pre-K are in every U.S. state; videos; an action toolkit; a guide to engage candidates; click-to-share graphics for social media; and news and updates.
Related resources:
For more information or to speak with an expert, contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] or 202.478.6331.