Aaron Ford beats GOP incumbent in Nevada governor's race

Democrat Aaron Ford has been elected governor of Nevada, CBS News projects, unseating Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo. Ford, currently the state's attorney general, will become Nevada's first Black governor, and CBS News describes him as the first Black governor elected in any state west of the Mississippi River.

The outcome appears to reflect economic frustration in a state that depends heavily on tourism. Las Vegas has seen fewer international visitors since President Trump returned to office, with Canadians notably absent, and tariffs have also weighed on Nevada. Lombardo, a moderate who first won the office in 2022, entered the race with a very large campaign fund, yet that advantage did not offset these problems.

Lombardo emphasized his record of working with a legislature controlled by Democrats. Ford countered by linking him to national Republicans and to Mr. Trump, whose standing in the state is weak: a poll from Noble Predictive Insights in October found 58% of Nevadans disapproving of the president's performance. That is a notable shift from 2024, when Nevada voters gave Mr. Trump a three-point win, making him the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state in two decades.

Summarized by PolitiKool from CBS News’s reporting. Read the full story at CBS News →