Who's In the Race

Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo and Democratic challenger Aaron Ford face each other in Nevada's governor's race, with the general election set for Nov. 3. ​

Both nominees won their June 9 primaries. Lombardo drew 172,058 votes in the Republican contest, and Ford drew 118,825 votes in the Democratic contest, a difference of more than 53,000 votes between the two fields.

Endorsements

President Donald Trump endorsed Lombardo, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal also backed him. Statewide official Stavros Anthony endorsed Lombardo as well.

Ford has assembled a heavyweight roster of his own. Barack Obama and Kamala Harris have both endorsed Ford. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Maryland Governor Wes Moore have also endorsed him.

Race Outlook: Ratings and Polling

Every major race-rating service calls this a dead heat. Cook Political Report rated the race a Toss-up, updated Oct. 28, and Sabato's Crystal Ball also rated it a Toss-up, updated Oct. 28. The consensus rating was Toss-up, updated Oct. 23.

Lombardo leads Ford by 0.2 percentage points in a 23-poll average as of Oct. 25. At that margin, the race falls well within any poll's typical error range, meaning either candidate could win.

Previous Elections

Nevada has a history of razor-thin statewide contests that makes the current deadlock feel familiar. Donald Trump carried Nevada in the 2024 presidential election with 51 percent of the vote to Kamala Harris's 47 percent, a margin of about 46,000 votes out of roughly 1.5 million cast. That result marked a shift in a state that had backed Democratic presidential nominees in the four previous cycles.

Lombardo won the 2022 governor's race with 49 percent of the vote, defeating Democrat Steve Sisolak by just 15,386 votes out of more than one million cast, a margin of about 1.5 percentage points. He enters this contest as the incumbent, but his 2022 margin was narrow enough that a small shift in turnout or enthusiasm could flip the outcome.

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