Aaron Ford defeats Joe Lombardo, becomes Nevada’s first Black governor
politicsNov 4, 2026302,029
Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford defeated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, with the Associated Press calling the race and NBC projecting a Democratic flip of the governorship. Ford will be the first Black governor of a state west of the Mississippi and was previously Nevada's first Black Senate majority leader and attorney general. Ford was first elected to the state legislature in 2012 and before that practiced law privately and taught math. As attorney general, Ford joined lawsuits against the Trump administration to defend birthright citizenship, challenge federal election interference, and restore education funding. Lombardo, elected in 2022 and a former sheriff, had been endorsed by President Trump and highlighted his record raising pay for teachers and setting aside $133 million for middle-income housing. Ford ran blaming Lombardo and Trump for Nevada's economic problems including gas prices above $5 per gallon and declining tourism, warned the state faces an estimated $1.2 billion in federal funding losses from proposed federal changes, and pledged to revive bills Lombardo vetoed such as limits on corporate home purchases and giving the state authority to adopt Medicaid negotiated drug prices.
