Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford beats GOP incumbent for governor

NPR · NBC News and NBC News report that Democrat Aaron Ford, Nevada's attorney general, has defeated Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in one of the most competitive governor's races in the country. NPR's account relies on an Associated Press race call, while NBC News cites its own projection. Ford will be the state's first Black governor, and NPR adds that he will be the first in any state west of the Mississippi River.

NBC News says Ford and his allies cast the contest as a verdict on Lombardo's and President Donald Trump's economic stewardship, targeting the 2025 tax and spending law and tariffs that strain a tourism-dependent economy. NPR notes that Ford blamed both men for gas prices above $5 a gallon and says the state could lose an estimated $1.2 billion in federal funding. Ford has promised to revive bills Lombardo vetoed, including limits on corporate home purchases.

Lombardo, a former sheriff whom Trump endorsed, stressed teacher and state employee raises and $133 million for middle-income housing, NPR says. NBC News adds that he opposed some tariffs, appeared with Trump this summer, and labeled Democrats weak on crime. It notes that Nevada's last two governors lost re-election.

Summarized by PolitiKool from NPR · NBC News and NBC News’s reporting. Read the full story at NPR · NBC News → Also at NBC News →