Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford won the state’s gubernatorial election, unseating first-term Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who conceded the race. With roughly 85% of the vote counted, Ford led 51.5% to 44.3% as the Associated Press, NBC News, CNN and Decision Desk HQ called the race.
Ford, who was Nevada’s first Black attorney general, becomes the state’s first Black governor. His victory flips the governorship back to Democrats four years after Lombardo defeated Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022, giving the party full control of Nevada’s state government as well as the governorships in all major 2028 presidential battleground states.
Democrats entered Election Day with a large early and mail-in voting cushion, matching an Oct 26 to Oct 28 Noble Predictive Insights poll that showed the candidates tied at 47% overall while Ford led 55% to 42% among early voters. Although Republicans outpaced Democrats by 13,995 ballots in Election Day turnout on the strength of rural counties, Democrats finished with a 2,083-vote Election Day edge in populous Clark County, preventing Lombardo from closing the statewide gap.