Nevada Democrat Aaron Ford defeats Republican Joe Lombardo to become state’s first Black governor

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford has won the race for governor, ousting Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo and becoming the state’s first Black governor.

This was one of the most closely watched elections in the country, and Ford’s win marks a major victory for Democrats’ efforts to expand their control of state governments in key battlegrounds. Nevada will play a critical role in the next presidential election.

Ford has served as the state’s top prosecutor since 2019. Throughout his campaign, he described growing up in poverty and going to school hungry. He explained how he became a math teacher before earning his law degree, and highlighted efforts to fight the Trump administration.

“This campaign didn’t happen by accident,” Ford said at a Democratic watch party Tuesday. “It happened because of faith, because of family, because of hard work, and because the people of Nevada decided that our best days are still ahead of us.”

Ford focused his campaign on affordability, promising to tackle student loan debt and crack down on the development of artificial intelligence data centers. He painted his opponent as a staunch loyalist of the president and criticized Lombardo for vetoing bills that Ford said would have helped Nevadans, from restrictions on corporate homeownership to providing free school meals.

Amid voters’ concerns over the impacts of AI data centers, Ford promised to pause new tax abatements for them and oppose projects on federal land in Nevada.

He defended against attacks by the governor, a former sheriff, that tried to paint Ford as soft on crime while he was attorney general. He also deflected Lombardo’s accusations that his policy goals would be too expensive.

Ford got a boost from national Democrats who are eyeing potential 2028 presidential campaigns, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris, who came to the state to campaign for him. Trump won Nevada in 2024 with 50.6% of the vote.

The economy took center stage

During this year’s race, the governor portrayed Ford as a threat to the state’s business-friendly climate. Lombardo sought to tie him to Democrat-controlled California, claiming Ford would bring the “Newsom playbook” of high taxes and more regulations.

Democrats worked to connect Lombardo with President Donald Trump’s tariffs, saying they harmed Las Vegas tourism, which saw a 17% drop in Canadian visitors in 2025. The president has feuded with Canadian leaders, and the two countries are in the middle of a trade dispute.

Ford criticized Lombardo for vetoing legislation the Democrat said would make life more affordable, such as a bill to limit home purchases by corporate investors. Nevadans are grappling with some of the highest gas prices in the country and a shortage of tens of thousands of homes.

The race for governor cast a shadow beyond Nevada

The westernmost battleground state has a distinctive electorate that doesn’t always follow national political trends.

Democratic strength in Las Vegas is counterbalanced by heavily Republican rural areas, and the true wild cards are the nonpartisan voters who make up nearly 40% of the electorate. The steady flow of people into and out of the state, as well as the large number of working-class and Latino voters, make it difficult to predict statewide races.

Although Nevada only has six electoral college votes, both parties have Nevada as an early state in their nominating calendar.

Law enforcement backgrounds were key to the race

Both candidates faced scrutiny for how they exercised their authority in law enforcement.

Ford’s campaign criticized Lombardo after he avoided a traffic ticket in Las Vegas, interrupting the police officer to say “I’m Joe Lombardo.” Meanwhile, the governor’s campaign blasted Ford for sponsoring consideration of a clemency application for a man who killed a pregnant woman in 2017.

Lombardo secured a major boost when the Democratic district attorney for Clark County, which covers Las Vegas, endorsed the governor instead of his fellow Democrat.

The governor served in law enforcement for over 25 years before becoming sheriff of Clark County in 2014. He became well known in 2017 while overseeing the investigation into the Las Vegas mass shooting, the deadliest in modern U.S. history. Lombardo was born in Japan to a U.S. military family stationed overseas and served in the Army and the Nevada National Guard.

Ford, a former state senator, frequently spoke about experiencing poverty as a child and how his father brought home stale candy bars from the grocery store he worked at for the family’s dinner. Since being elected attorney general, he has secured millions in settlements from opioid manufacturers, and he successfully sued a student loan servicer as well as the gaming platform Roblox.

Jessica Hill, The Associated Press