EDITORIAL: New poll bad news for Joe Biden in the Silver State

Joe Biden has been gifted a likely election opponent who drags around among the highest unfavorable ratings ever recorded. Yet the president still can’t move the needle for a great many voters.

Democrats surely blanched this week when they viewed the latest poll from Emerson College in coordination with KLAS-TV and The Hill. The election remains eight months off, but the numbers are a disaster for the Biden administration.

In Nevada — a vital swing state that Mr. Biden carried in 2020 — Donald Trump leads the president 46-40. Throw in third-party candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr. along with Cornel West and Jill Stein, and Mr. Biden’s deficit jumps to 10 points.

The poll also found that Mr. Trump tops Vice President Kamala Harris in Nevada 48-39 and routs California Gov. Gavin Newsom 49-32.

Respondents were more concerned about Mr. Biden’s failing mental status (61 percent) than with Mr. Trump’s various legal travails (53 percent). Notably, the survey found, “Hispanic voters in Nevada are split: 44 percent support Mr. Trump and 41 percent support Mr. Biden.” Female voters are also divided, with 43 percent in the Biden camp and 42 percent backing Mr. Trump.

If the White House can’t boost those numbers from Hispanics and women, Mr. Biden can kiss Nevada goodbye.

The president is also struggling in neighboring Arizona, another swing state he eked out in 2020. Mr. Biden trails Mr. Trump 46-43 in the Grand Canyon State.

The poll determined that, in both Nevada and Arizona, immigration and the economy were the top concerns for voters. That likely explains Mr. Biden’s predicament. The southern border is a mess, and no matter how hard Democrats try to pin the fiasco on Republicans, most Americans aren’t buying that nonsense. And while the administration brags about bringing down inflation and the healthy job market, many voters correctly blame Mr. Biden for the reality on the ground: high prices for everything from eggs to energy.

The Emerson survey did have some good news for Democrats, as Sen. Jacky Rosen had leads of between 2 and 9 points over three potential GOP challengers in Nevada.

Mr. Biden, clearly not as mentally sharp as he once was, insists he wants to be president until his late 80s because he must save the nation from Mr. Trump. Democrats have so far gone along. But poll after poll in key swing states has found that Mr. Biden, along with his second-in-command, Ms. Harris, may, in fact, be the only Democrats that Mr. Trump could beat on a national level.