Alex Henkell-Malespin understands progressive wariness toward Vice President Kamala Harris.

The 24-year-old often sees his friends calling out President Joe Biden’s — and, by extension, Harris’ — continued support of Israel amid months of continued violence and civilian casualties in Gaza. The issue is also personal to him, as he is set to join the Marine Corps later this month, and the possibility of a regional war in the Middle East concerns him.

But he also thinks the stakes are too high to sit out this election. He views Harris as a far superior candidate to former President Donald Trump — specifically because of her gun control views (he was at UNLV during the school shooting last year) and her general rhetoric — and is hopeful Harris would ramp up her pressure on Israel if she becomes president.

“She is the best of the choices,” Henkell-Malespin said.

Winning over progressive voters in Nevada could be key for Harris to prevail in the Silver State — and ultimately, the presidency — but she is facing a voting bloc that has expressed fierce opposition to the Biden administration’s actions since Hamas’ attack on Israel one year ago Monday killed more than 1,200 people. The administration has called for a ceasefire and maintained that Israel has a right to defend itself. But opponents on the left say it is not doing enough to limit civilian casualties in Gaza and should stop weapons shipments to Israel. 

To help sell Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) stumped for her in Nevada last week, holding a quasi-rally and town hall in East Las Vegas on Thursday and canvassing in North Las Vegas on Friday. Sanders is popular in the Silver State — he won the state’s Democratic presidential caucus in 2020 and his populist economic positions have appealed in a union-heavy state where voters, like the rest of the country, prioritize the economy above all else.

For about an hour in East Las Vegas, Sanders spoke to around 300 people and took questions from attendees. Much of his speech focused on wealth and health care inequities. He only addressed the Middle East once, at the end of his remarks — Sanders has been among the strongest critics in Congress of the administration’s Israel policy and last month sponsored a resolution to block the sale of more than $20 billion worth of weapons to Israel. 

It’s unknown how much the escalating conflict in the Middle East will hurt Harris in Nevada. A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll conducted last month found about two-thirds of likely voters in Nevada considered the Israel-Hamas war as important in determining their vote, though that was the second-lowest rate among 20 issues posed to respondents. Nevadans were also less likely than voters in swing states overall to call the issue important to their decisions.

To get a better sense of Nevada progressives’ thoughts on Harris, The Nevada Independent spoke with 10 attendees at Sanders’ events. Many of them are longtime Sanders supporters and were steadfast in supporting Harris, mostly because of who is running against her. They acknowledged that they did not completely agree with the Biden administration's Israel policy, but did not have many other policy critiques of Harris, who has moderated a slew of her policy positions this year.

In an interview with The Nevada Independent, Sanders said he has found it easy to convince progressives to vote for Harris, and that the choice is “crystal clear,” even if they disagree with some of her policies. 

“I think progressives understand that we need to have a president who believes in democracy,” Sanders said. “Donald Trump does not.” 

Sterling Raiklen, 24, has supported Sanders since his ascendant presidential run in 2016. He said that he resonates “greatly with the people in Gaza,” and that Harris’ rhetoric surrounding the conflict — calling for more humanitarian aid and a two-state solution — aligns with his views.

“We need to find a way to fix the humanitarian crisis, but the way we do that — we definitely don't want to elect Donald Trump,” Raiklen said. “Trump has signaled that he's going to ‘wipe out Hamas,’ which I don't think means wipe out Hamas. I think that that means being more encouraging of [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s more extremist policies.”

However, Raiklen also acknowledged that the issue is of less importance in Nevada than other battleground states. As the deputy state director for the Nevada chapter of Progressive Victory he talks to Nevadans while knocking doors and visiting college campuses. The Middle East rarely comes up, and said he instead is more concerned about general disengagement.

“Whether they're Republican or Democrat or independent, they are not a fan of the same old, same old,” Raiklen said. “They're feeling it in their grocery store bill, they're seeing it with their educational opportunities, with health care problems that they're recognizing.”

For Robin Smith, it's clear that Harris’ support of Israel is a politically necessary move in an already contentious election (pro-Israel groups have poured millions into the election). As a military veteran, the 58-year-old says that she believes that Israel is violating international law by bombing hospitals and attacking civilians, but she doesn’t begrudge Harris because of her support of Israel. 

“Because she's trying to be elected, she can't take a stance one way or the other,” Smith said.  

Smith, who voted for Sanders in 2016, said that she plans to vote for Harris this cycle. Trump’s disparaging comments about military veterans, such as reportedly calling deceased soldiers “losers,” is one of the primary reasons she supports the vice president. 

Kevin Abrahami, 27, considers himself “very left-wing” on economic issues and supports Harris’ pledges to advance the middle class and take on corporations. Although he disagrees with the Biden administration’s policy on Israel, it’s not enough for him to not vote.

“You vote for 80 percent [of a candidate’s policies],” Abrahami said. “You’re not going to get everything from the candidate.”

Sanders emphasized the way to effect change is by voting.

“These things don’t happen by accident. They happen by legislation,” Sanders said. “You can’t moan and groan and [say], ‘I’m not going to vote.”