Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo Announces His Reelection Campaign

This evening, Republican Governor Joe Lombardo of Nevada announced his candidacy for reelection during a speech given at Rancho High School, a symbolic location as this is where he graduated and first launched his campaign in 2022. In 2022, Lombardo defeated Governor Steve Sisolak (D) by 1.5 percentage points and will likely face Nevada’s Democrat Attorney General Aaron Ford in the 2026 general election.

Despite the Democrat’s control of the state legislature, Lombardo highlighted his accomplishments, but stressed the need for a GOP legislative majority to pass commonsense reforms and legislation. He warned that if Democrats retain power of the legislature and regain power of the executive branch, Nevadans risks higher taxes, fewer jobs, men competing in women’s sports, and increased crime.

Lombardo claimed he is the backstop against the “woke California agenda” and that there is “unfinished business” to secure Nevada’s future.

Lombardo touted his cuts of more than 600 regulations and the streamlining of hundreds of more regulations to unburden businesses throughout the state. Since his tenure, Nevada has realized a 4 percent annual job growth rate since 2022, making it the sixth-fastest state for employment growth in the nation with Nevada ranked as the eighth-best business climate in the U.S.

He also highlighted his record investment in education, including $2 billion in new funding, increased teacher pay, equalized charter school pay, strengthened accountability measures in schools, and the passage of landmark school choice legislation.

As the former Sheriff of Clark County, Governor Lombardo proposed a series of  bills to undue the lax criminal justice reforms passed by the Democratic majority and signed by former Governor Steve Sisolak. Lombardo’s bills were initially met with opposition and tabled by the Democratic majority, however harsher penalties for fentanyl traffickers did become law and Lombardo signed a double-digit raise for law enforcement. Lombardo vowed to keep fighting for stronger crime legislation if the legislature refuses to act.

Statewide, he noted that violent crime was reduced by 10 percent.

During the last legislative session, Lombardo endorsed and signed the Nevada Housing Access & Attainability Act, which invested $130 million in middle-class housing, streamlined approvals for faster, lower-cost construction, and by working with the Trump administration and congressional delegation, Nevada will  release federal land for attainable housing.

During his remarks, Lombardo championed the Campus for Hope, a first-of-its-kind homelessness services hub, supported Nevada’s first stand-alone children’s hospital, and stressed the needed innovation and private-sector investment as keys to solving problems.

He pledged to protect Nevada families from California-driven gas price hikes and soundly rejected California’s influence over Nevada’s energy and economy.

His protection from California policies is illustrated in the record number of vetoes he has issued during the two legislative sessions. Lombardo vetoed more than 160 bills and vowed to be the “last line of defense” for Nevadans from the progressive Democratic legislature.

During the pandemic and without a single Republican vote,  Nevada Democrats ushered in a series of bills that upended and transformed Nevada election laws to include unlimited ballot harvesting, extended deadlines for ballot tabulation and universal mail ballots.

A series of election integrity bills, introduced by Governor Lombardo and state republicans, were denied hearings. Attorney General Aaron Ford falsely claimed that Voter ID was unconstitutional.

Yet with Lombardo’s support, a voter ID ballot initiative was passed in 2024 by Nevadans and will have to pass again in 2026 to become law. Lombardo, citing that Voter ID is supported by 70 percent of Nevadans, expects that the constitutional amendment will pass, allowing for mail ballots to be verified before delivery to the registered voter.

The governor will continue his reelection campaign in Reno on Wednesday morning.