Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford has won Nevada's gubernatorial race, defeating Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo and becoming the state's first Black governor. The Associated Press called the race early Wednesday with 85% of votes counted and Ford leading by seven percentage points. Nonpartisan candidate Danielle Ford was also on the ballot.
Ford, 54, has served as attorney general since 2019. His victory flips the governor's office back to Democrats in a key battleground state, marking the second consecutive cycle that Nevada voters have rejected an incumbent governor after Lombardo unseated Democrat Steve Sisolak in 2022.
Ford centered his campaign on economic anxiety, framing the contest as a referendum on what he called the "Lombardo-Trump economy." Democrats highlighted federal spending cuts, tax policies, and tariffs they argued hurt working families and Nevada's tourism-dependent workforce. Ford also criticized a state-federal agreement easing data center approvals on public land.
Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff elected in 2022, campaigned on his law-and-order record while trying to distance himself from national politics. He supported some federal proposals such as exempting tips from taxes but opposed certain Trump administration tariffs and energy stances. Ultimately, voter concerns over high rents, grocery bills, gas prices, and healthcare costs drove support toward Ford, giving Democrats a pivotal statewide win ahead of the 2028 cycle.
Sources: KTNV 13 Action News, FOX5 Vegas
Original reporting: 8 News Now →
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