On the issues: can the economy tip the Nevada governor’s race?

Attorney General Aaron Ford has attacked Gov. Joe Lombardo on affordability and the state of Nevada’s economy for months in ads and on the campaign trail. His first TV commercial featured unfavorable Nevada economic metrics that he said didn’t add up, a message he has repeated in similar spots and mailers.

Lombardo, who used a similar strategy against Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022, now finds himself on the receiving end of the same tactic. He defended his record in a recent campaign interview, saying it’s easy to point to the person in charge.

Lombardo argues he inherited a weakened economy from Sisolak and points to improvements under his watch, including more than 100,000 new jobs, about $6 billion in private investments through mid-July, and the elimination of hundreds of regulations. He claims Nevada is No. 1 in job increase, small business increase, and wage increase.

He has committed to no new taxes for a second term and advocates for an annual sales tax holiday around back-to-school time. Nevada’s unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in September, the lowest since February 2020, and has fallen for five consecutive months, narrowing the gap with the national rate to 0.5 percentage points.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal