On a Wednesday afternoon under a blazing sun and clear blue sky, Claudia Monreal and Artenasa Orocco pulled up on a neighborhood street in east Las Vegas.
Armed with political flyers and an app on a phone showing where to go, they began knocking on doors as the temperature in Nevada approached 100 degrees.
Election Day is quickly approaching in the battleground state, and for Democrats, victory there could all come down to voter turnout as Republicans have nearly wiped out Democrats’ voter registration advantage in the state.
That’s where the Culinary Workers Union comes into play. The union which represents 60,000 service workers in Las Vegas and Reno has been helping deliver wins for Democrats in Nevada for years. In August, it endorsed Harris for president.
Both Monreal and Orocco are union members on leaves of absence from their Vegas casino jobs ahead of the looming election to help turn out voters and urge them to support Democrats in November.
Artenasa Orocco (left) and Claudia Monreal (right) out knocking on doors in Las Vegas. They are both members of the Culinary Workers Union out on leaves of absence from their work at casinos in Vegas to help get out the vote for Democrats ahead of the 2024 election
Monreal has been out knocking on doors for the last three weeks. She has not been counting just how many doors she personally has hit, but she plans to keep ramping up her canvassing before Election Day.
Overall, the union’s 450 canvassers knocked on more than one million doors in the state in 2022, its largest program ever.
‘A lot of people are very welcoming. If they’re on the fence still, they ask for information. We’re able to give them factual information,’ Monreal said of her experience this year so far.
The union is targeting registered Democrats and Independent union members as well as the general public. First and foremost, Monreal make sure they are registered to vote and have a plan to vote before discussing the Democrats endorsed by the union.
The mother of five said the biggest issues she comes across are the economy including skyrocketing rents and higher prices.
Orocco, the mother of three adult daughters, agreed the top issue when she engages with voters has also been the cost of living, but she has also found reproductive rights is another top issue.
‘Women’s rights are important,’ she said. ‘Nobody can come and tell us “you have to do this” when they don’t know the situation for every person, so that is a very big issue.’
At a stop with an older man sitting on his patio, they chat for several minutes in Spanish before leaving him some flyers.
The union members are working to get out the vote for Kamala Harris, Senator Jacky Rosen, Democrats in the House and other candidates down-ballot. First they ask people about their voter registration and plans to vote before sharing information on why the union endorsed Harris. During the 2022 midterms, the Culinary Workers Union canvassers knocked on more than one million doors
Monreal and Orocco speaking with a man about voting in Spanish
When canvassers do not get people at the door, they leave flyers about their endorsement and reminding people that election day is November 5
The women are urging voters to cast ballots for Vice President Kamala Harris as well as reelect Senator Jacky Rosen, Nevada’s Democratic House members and support other Democrats down-ballot.
Nevada is a deeply purple state. President Biden won it in 2020 by 35,000 votes. The latest polling shows a closer race between Harris and Trump with the Democratic nominee leading by one point in the Real Clear Politics average.
DailyMail.com and J.L. Partners’ election model has Trump as the favorite to win the state.
The strategy by Democrats in Nevada is focused on voter turnout with work from labor groups, said Daniel Lee, a professor of political science at University of Nevada Las Vegas.
‘That was kind of the core part of the Harry Reid machine,’ Lee said, referring to the infrastructure of workers built by the late Senate Majority Leader in the state. ‘It’s something that’s kind of been chugging along even since his passing.’
Harris recognizes the power the union still holds for helping turn out the vote. On a less than 24-hour campaign swing through the state this week, Harris stopped first to meet with Culinary Workers Union leaders and members Wednesday night before her town hall on Thursday. The Nevada Teamsters and SEIU are among other groups that have also endorsed the vice president.
Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed by U.S. Representatives Susie Lee and Steven Horsford on arrival in Las Vegas on October 20. The Culinary Workers Union is canvassing for all three
But when it comes to Nevada, Democrats are losing their edge at least in terms of voter registrations. In 2020, they had about a five point advantage. That’s now down to a one point advantage.
In the midterms, Democrats were able to hold on to the Senate seat in Nevada. But Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak was ousted by Republican Joe Lombardo.
One of the biggest challenges for Sisolak was the economy. Nevada with its heavy tourism and service industry led economy was decimated by the coronavirus pandemic.
While the unemployment rate nationally hovers near historic lows at 4.1 percent. Nevada has the highest unemployment rate of any state at 5.5 percent. During the pandemic in 2020 it hit 13.5 percent annually before edging back down.
The tourism industry has largely recovered with most metrics hitting pre-pandemic levels in early 2023. But for some, the memories and some lingering financial impact remains as costs also went up.
Trump is also trying to draw support from workers in the industry. During a Las Vegas rally in June, he proposed ending taxes on tips in a pitch to the thousands of service workers at casinos, restaurants and hotels in the state.
Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Las Vegas on September 13. In June he pitched ending taxation on tips during another visit to the state. Republicans have gained grounds in Nevada when it comes to voter registrations in the state. They’ve gone from a roughly five point gap in 2020 to a one point gap in 2024
The union dismissed the proposal with its secretary-treasurer saying relief is definitely needed but workers ‘are smart enough to know the difference between real solutions and wild campaign promises.’
Harris has also signaled support for end taxes on tips, which Trump has accused her of copying. Democrats have introduced a bill in Congress, but Nevada already has a ban on subminimum wage in the state.
The ex-president has also been gaining with Hispanic voters. A new Suffolk University poll shows Harris leading Trump 56 to 40 percent among Hispanic voters in the state.
While support for Democrats has not dropped as a percentage, Trump’s number have inching upward, denying the vice president the 24 to 26 point advantage Biden had with Hispanic voters in the state in 2020.
But for Monreal and Orocco, Hispanic support for Trump has not come up in their own conversations on the ground. Their union is the largest Latino organization in the state.
Overall, they’ve found their engagement with voters across the neighborhoods of Vegas to be positive as they make their case. On Wednesday, it was one of their better days to be outside. While temperatures neared triple digits, they’ve been out in temperatures nearing 110 before.
When they don’t meet voters at doors, they leave flyers reminding people about the upcoming elections and explaining why they’re backing the Democrats.
Monreal and Orocco with Harris supporter Darcy Gouveia who answered while they were out knocking on doors in Las Vegas
At a door an hour into their canvassing, Darcy Gouveia answers his door. After introducing themselves, the first set of questions is about whether Darcy is registered and has a plan to vote.
Gouveia is all set on that front He also knows exactly who he will be voting for: Harris.
‘I think she’s very strong and would be good for president,’ he said.
The biggest issue he faces is high prices from the cost of rent to gas and food costs. While he does not love everything out of the Biden administration, he believes they are trying and have done ok with addressing the issue as they can.
As for Trump, he has not been impressed.
‘Oh please, not him,’ Gouveia said, rolling his eyes before he shut his front door.
