Nevada governor race heads to Election Day as a toss-up

Three candidates are on the ballot for Nevada governor when polls open Tuesday, Nov. 3, in a race multiple analysts have called a toss-up.

Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo faces Democratic challenger Aaron Ford, the state's attorney general, and nonpartisan candidate Danielle Ford, who serves on the Nevada State Board of Education, according to the Reno Gazette Journal's voter guide.

The Cook Political Report rates the contest a toss-up, Bloomberg reported. September polling reflected the tight margin. An Emerson College Polling/KLAS-TV survey found Aaron Ford at 44% and Lombardo at 42%, while a Noble Predictive Insights poll showed Lombardo ahead by two points, according to the Las Vegas Sun.

What the governor does

Nevada's governor carries out laws enacted by the Legislature, signs or vetoes legislation, puts together the state budget and appoints officials to oversee state agencies, according to the Reno Gazette Journal.

The winner will serve a four-year term.

The candidates

Joe Lombardo is seeking a second term. A columnist for the Nevada Appeal wrote that Lombardo played a central role in a $2.6 billion increase in K-12 school funding in 2023 with accountability measures. The column also stated Lombardo issued 162 vetoes in his first term and maintained a "no tax hikes" policy. He won the endorsement of the Clark County Education Association, Nevada's largest teachers' union, after working with the group on teacher pay and student discipline rules, the column stated.

Aaron Ford is Nevada's two-term attorney general. He is term-limited in that office, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. The American Prospect reported that Ford is campaigning on working-class economic themes, with affordability as his central issue. At a meeting with Las Vegas Teamsters, Ford said, "I have only one top issue. Affordability. We have to deal simultaneously with housing costs, the price of health care, and utility bills," the Prospect reported. Ford previously worked in private legal practice and as a state senator before becoming attorney general, according to the same report.

Danielle Ford is running as a nonpartisan. She serves on the State Board of Education and has won two prior elections, according to a Nevada Independent opinion column. Campaign finance reports show she raised $2,200 as of her most recent filing, the column stated. KLAS reported that Republican PACs sent mailers promoting Danielle Ford as the "AOC of Nevada" in what the station described as an attempt to draw votes from Aaron Ford.

How to vote

In Clark County, 136 polling locations open Tuesday, Nov. 3, including Henderson City Hall, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters in line at 7 p.m. can still cast a ballot.

Every registered voter received a mail ballot unless they opted out. Voters who go to the polls in person are asked to bring their mail ballot to surrender, the Las Vegas Sun reported. Same-day voter registration is available with a valid Nevada driver's license or state ID card.

Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can be counted up to four days afterward, according to the Nevada Independent. Results are not final until local officials canvass them within 10 days of Election Day.