NV-GOV: Democrats bet on a 'Trump slump' to take back Nevada [View all]

LAS VEGAS — Democrats looking to win back Nevada’s gubernatorial mansion want to tie incumbent GOP Gov. Joe Lombardo to Donald Trump’s agenda — but the first-term governor is not making it easy.

Despite receiving Trump’s endorsement, Lombardo, a former sheriff, has at times split with the White House and GOP-led Congress. He criticized cuts to Medicaid, publicly complained in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about cuts to wind and solar projects in Nevada and asked the administration to end tariffs on lithium.

Democrats, meanwhile, have attacked the governor for not standing up to Trump, saying in a press release last month that Lombardo “refuses to defend” Nevada after the Trump administration canceled a massive solar project.

National Democrats, buoyed by off-cycle electoral victories earlier this month, see Lombardo as the top governor to unseat in the midterm elections. He’ll face either Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford or progressive Washoe County Commission Chair Alexis Hill. The race unfolds against the backdrop of economic instability in one of America’s most working-class states, even as blue-collar voters have been fleeing the Democratic Party for several cycles.


https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/29/nevada-governor-race-trump-lombardo-economy-democrats-00669795