Nevada Republican Gov.Joe Lombardo and Democrat Aaron Ford have won their primaries, NBC News projects, officially setting up what’s expected to be one of the most competitive gubernatorial contests in the fall.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Lombardo, the former Clark County sheriff, easily secured his party’s nomination over several low-profile challengers as he seeks a second term.
Ford, meanwhile, defeated Washoe County Commissioner in the Democratic contest, taking roughly two-thirds of the vote.After Lombardo won his first gubernatorial election in Nevada, a perennial swing state, by less than two points in 2022, he has emerged as a top Democratic target for defeat.
Of the five governor’s races rated as “toss-ups” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report with Amy Walter, Nevada is the only one with an incumbent Republican running for re-election.Ford, who previously served as the top Democrat in the state Senate, is vying to become the first Black governor of Nevada.
The race, which has long been anticipated to be a Lombardo-Ford matchup, has already featured national overtones.Ford and Democrats have sought to tie Lombardo to President Donald Trump, arguing that his policies on tariffs, immigration, the Iran war and more have harmed Nevada and its economy.
Lombardo and his allies, meanwhile, have cast him as a pragmatic Republican who has worked with a Democratic-controlled Legislature on jobs, education and housing.In many ways, Democrats are hoping to capitalize this year on some of the dynamics that contributed to their narrow defeat in 2022.
That year, like now, the party had an unpopular president in the White House with high inflation and consumer prices.Democratic Gov.
Steve Sisolak was unable to outrun those factors, among others, and lost by just over 15,000 votes.(He was the only incumbent Democratic governor to lose a re-election in 2022.)But underscoring how c...