LAS VEGAS — As Charlene Epps stepped out of the Sahara West Library after casting her vote in Nevada, her Dodgers hat was a quiet but unmistakable emblem of her Los Angeles roots.
“I grew up in a Democratic state so I know what that’s like,” Epps said. “I ended up moving to a red state because of my husband, who’s in the military, and let me just tell you — it was a world of difference.”
The difference? Life was a lot more affordable and livable, a reality that heavily swayed a pleasantly surprised Epps’ decision to vote Republican in the 2024 presidential election. However, Epps isn’t alone in this movement of ex-Californians who found it unsustainable to reside there and sought a change.
For decades, California expats have significantly added to Nevada’s population growth, but especially so in the past four years. According to data collected by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, nearly 158,000 people relocated to Nevada from California since 2020, composing 43% of all new residents. The highest number of Californians moved to Nevada in 2021 (47,376), according to driver’s license surrender data obtained from the DMV by the Las Vegas-Review Journal.
While the numbers don’t indicate party registration, when the results from the presidential election came out, it was clear that Nevada is a true swing state. Donald Trump secured the sixth battleground state after three days of counting on November 8, with a 46,000-vote lead over Vice President Kamala Harris.
On the Saturday before Election Day, the vice-presidential hopefuls faced off at competing campaign events. Excited voters were packed into a small business-like office to hear Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz firing up supporters before they rang doorbells, while just across town, Ohio Sen. JD Vance turned a rec center gymnasium into a lively rally space with a basketball court backdrop.
Supporters at both of the campaign rallies proudly showed off their preferred candidate’s merchandise. From red Make America Great Again hats to the camouflage Harris-Walz hats, Nevadans made it clear that this was a split state.
As crowds eagerly tried to shake his hand and snap a quick selfie before his departure, Walz took a moment to talk about young undecided voters. “Look, the future matters on this, whether it’s your reproductive rights, investment in education, or climate change — just get out there and vote,” Walz told Annenberg Media.
The Nevada desert turned into a battleground of campaign signs — a Harris-Walz versus Trump-Vance stand-off scattered across different parks, lawns, intersections and homes. This is a state that was completely inundated with activity, as voters from all political parties joined in, showcasing their creativity with homemade signs and banners. There wasn’t a single street or light without something election-related.
For Brad Crowell, who lived on the East Coast for most of his life until after college, the move to Nevada marked a significant change. When comparing life in Pennsylvania to Nevada, he noted that in his Pennsylvania community, nearly every yard only had Trump signs.
“My father-in-law didn’t want to be the one guy,” Crowell said before heading out to canvass for Harris and Walz, referring to his father-in-law’s belief that voting with the crowd was his only option. “He would be ostracized by the people he sees every day.”
However, in Nevada, voting with a crowd seemed almost non-existent. It proved to be a true purple state, with trends suggesting both parties will continue to need to invest their political efforts.
During the four days leading up to Election Day, California seemed far from anyone’s mind.
This idea of ex-Californians reshaping the state was showing as a real concern, with many signs along freeways stating “Don’t make Nevada like California.” The signs were to urge a No vote on Proposition 3, which would have brought an open primary with ranked-choice voting to Nevada. This question was defeated in its second attempt on the ballot. It passed once before in 2022, but Nevada laws require constitutional amendments to be approved twice over two consecutive general elections.
Are ex-Californians trying to make Nevada more like their home state?
“There’s this notion that Californians are going to wreck our tax structure in a regulatory environment,” said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.”But anyone who understands our economy can realize how dependent we are on California for visitors or company relocation.”
Damore also noted that much of the funding behind Proposition 3 came from out of state, fueling the presumption that it was coming from California dollars.
With just two days left before Election Day, the Harris-Walz team held a canvass kickoff event in the early morning to continue to fire up people’s spirits. As canvassers from all over excitedly talked amongst themselves, they were greeted by the hosts of Pod Save America, who were there not only to pump up the crowd but to also join them in hitting the streets and knocking on doors.
Laura Nudd, who attended this kickoff event, referred to herself as a “bit of a unicorn,” in the sense that she felt like a “rare” case when talking about this election because she grew up in Kern County, a red part of California, and was raised Republican. At the end of the day, it came down to seeking a more affordable lifestyle, she said about California expats who moved to Nevada in recent years.
“I think their thought process has been they’re not necessarily here to come here to change Nevada, but to get by and hopefully get back to California at some point,” said Nudd. “This is almost temporary.”
Whether this holds true for other relocated Californians or not, it’s a reality that resonates closely with her.
When Nudd moved to Southern California for college, her political perspective shifted — a change she carried with her to her new home state of Nevada. “I can see where Republicans are coming from. I grew up in a mindset that bigger government is awful, not bigger government can sometimes be a stepping stone for something,” said Nudd.
Although her dad and family voted for Trump in 2020 and 2024, Nudd cast her vote for Harris and has voted blue ever since she started campaigning for Hilary Clinton in 2016.
In the end, it wasn’t the Sphere that gave Nevada a purple hue, it was the people. Nevada’s color told the story: a state shaped by people from all over, shifting perspectives and fighting for its future.