Nevada Race: Aaron Ford Defeats Incumbent Joe Lombardo
The Democrat, who will be the first Black governor west of the Mississippi, takes office after an AP call confirms the upset in a key midterms contest.
By Kwame Silva ·
Nevada voters chose a new leader on Tuesday, electing Attorney General Aaron Ford over incumbent Governor Joe Lombardo. The Associated Press called the race, marking a shift in the state's top executive office. Ford will become the first Black governor of a state west of the Mississippi River. His election changes the political balance in a state that has leaned Republican in recent years.
Ford’s political career began in the private sector where he practiced law and taught math. He entered public service in 2012 when he won a seat in the state legislature. He later served as the state’s first Black Senate majority leader before winning the attorney general’s office. In that role, he filed lawsuits to challenge federal actions, including efforts to uphold birthright citizenship and restore education funding.
Lombardo, a former sheriff, won the governor’s seat in 2022. He received the endorsement of President Trump for his re-election bid. His campaign focused on his first-term achievements, which included raising pay for teachers and state employees. He also highlighted a $133 million allocation for middle-income housing development. Both candidates supported tax breaks for data centers but disagreed on the degree of regulation applied to the industry.
The campaign centered heavily on the state’s economic performance. Ford blamed Lombardo and the Trump administration for high gas prices, which exceeded $5 per gallon in parts of the state. He also cited declining tourism revenue caused by tariffs and immigration crackdowns. Nevada faces an estimated $1.2 billion loss in federal funding due to changes in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Ford pledged to reverse several legislative moves made by Lombardo. He intends to bring back bills that Lombardo vetoed, including measures to limit corporate home buying and to adopt negotiated prescription drug prices for Medicaid. The governor-elect plans to use his new office to address these economic pressures directly.
The result confirms a competitive trend in the midterms. Ford’s victory ends Lombardo’s term after a single four-year cycle. The transition will see a Democrat move into a role previously held by a Republican with a record of executive vetoes. The new administration will soon begin the work of implementing Ford’s legislative agenda.
