Newsom’s Summer Tour Kicks Off in Nevada 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom will launch his national summer campaign tour Thursday in the Las Vegas area, beginning a three-day swing focused on rallying Nevada Democratic volunteers, deploying canvassers across the metro region, and raising money for Attorney General Aaron Ford’s bid to unseat Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

The Nevada stop marks the first leg of Newsom’s nationwide effort to boost Democratic candidates ahead of the November midterms, with a large emphasis on the competitive Nevada governor’s race and building a supermajority in the state legislature. Newsom is scheduled to remain in the Las Vegas area through Saturday, July 11. According to his campaign, Newsom will join the Nevada Democratic Party for a canvassing kickoff event to rally volunteers and send door-knockers into neighborhoods across the Las Vegas metro. 

The trip also includes fundraising events on behalf of Ford, the Democratic nominee challenging Lombardo in one of the nation’s most closely watched gubernatorial contests. 

On Saturday, Newsom is slated to participate in the opening of a congressional district field office for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District alongside Ford, U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Las Vegas), and Nevada Democratic Party Chair Assemblywoman Daniele Monroe-Moreno, who is running for Mayor of North Las Vegas.

Newsom joins a roster of national Democrats who have appeared with or fundraised for Ford, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar. Ford has also hosted fundraisers in Texas, California and Washington D.C.

His team has reported out-of-state fundraising hauls, including more than $2.7 million raised in the first five months of the cycle and a record $1.5 million in the first quarter alone for a non-incumbent candidate.

Lombardo maintains a roughly sevenfold cash edge over his Democratic challenger. 

Ford’s tenure as attorney general has been marked by aggressive litigation against the Trump administration. He has signed onto more than 40 lawsuits against Trump-era policies since the start of the president’s second term, often collaborating with multi-state coalitions that include California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Despite requests from the press, including from this outlet, his office has not provided the total costs of litigation paid for by taxpayers. 

Ford’s progressive bona fides on illegal immigration and transgender issues stand in direct contrast to Lombardo’s record—as a former Clark County Sheriff and current governor—of prioritizing community safety and protecting girls’ and women’s sports and private spaces based on biological sex.

Lombardo has led a petition drive for a constitutional amendment to keep biological males out of female sports categories, praised U.S. Supreme Court rulings upholding state bans on transgender women in women’s sports, and pledged to pursue legislation limiting transgender participation in state-funded female sports if re-elected.

Ford demonstrated his progressive alignment by joining an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit defending biological males identifying as girls in Arizona school sports, arguing they had not undergone male puberty and thus held “no ascertainable competitive advantage.” He has also supported access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth and opposed restrictions on transgender military service.

Newsom’s involvement comes as polls show the Nevada governor’s race in a virtual dead heat, yet Lombardo just announced “Democrats for Lombardo” featuring 120 prominent Nevadans.”From day one, I’ve worked to serve all Nevadans, regardless of party,’ Governor Lombardo said in a statement.

By appearing with Ford and party leaders, Newsom is lending his national profile, reputation, and small-dollar donor network to flip a key battleground state. Nevada Democrats have coordinated the events, consistent with their previous hosting of Newsom appearances, including a March 2026 “Local Brews + National Views” conversation with Monroe-Moreno.

California Assembly Republicans quickly criticized the trip on social media, questioning why Newsom is campaigning in another state rather than focusing on California’s challenges and pointing to the large number of Californians relocating to Nevada due to Democratic policies, bureaucratic regulations and overreach, and affordability. From the governor’s mansion, through legislation, and on the campaign trail, preventing Nevada from becoming California has become a signature Lombardo talking point.

The Nevada-focused kickoff  to the tour aligns with Newsom’s stated goal of helping Democrats flip seats and counter Republican gains. His campaign reports raising more than $5.2 million this cycle for Democratic candidates and causes through his small-dollar email list.

This national tour occurs as Newsom has roughly five months remaining in his term-limited governorship. It also unfolds amid ongoing federal investigations into Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom—matters highlighted in California Globe reporting on June 15, when Newsom publicly claimed he and his wife had been placed on President Trump’s “hit list” due to his potential 2028 presidential run. 

As previously reported by the Globe, the probes involve tax and nonprofit issues tied to Siebel Newsom’s organizations, as well as matters involving former governor’s office staff.  On June 17, Assemblyman Carl DeMaio called for a state investigation into whether Newsom used taxpayer resources in connection with his response to the federal probe. Newsom’s team has described the investigations, that began in the Biden administration, as politically motivated, 

The California Globe will continue tracking Newsom’s Nevada activities and any emerging reactions from Nevada elected officials and party activists as the visit unfolds.