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2026 General Election: Governor State of Nevada
Editor's Note: Danielle Ford and Joe Lombardo didn't respond to requests to participate. Aaron Ford. Occupation: Nevada Attorney General.
Updated Oct 16, 2026, 2:28 PM ET
Aaron Ford, a Democrat who has served as Nevada's attorney general since 2019, is challenging Republican Governor Joe Lombardo in the 2026 Nevada governor's race.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Aaron Ford.
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Recent media coverage for Aaron Ford.
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Obama urges Nevadans to elect Attorney General Aaron Ford as governor in new video
“As Attorney General, Aaron has gone to bat for Nevadans, helping bring down violent crime, holding drug companies accountable, and taking on utility companies over unfair electric bills,” Obama said.
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Endorsements for the midterm election in Southern Nevada
Las Vegas Weekly
Lombardo
Black
Monroe-Moreno -
AI data center plans on federal land roils the Nevada governor's race - Los Angeles Times
However, data centers have been unpopular in many communities as voters worry about higher electricity bills, declining water supplies and other effects.
LA TimesLombardo -
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Ms. Harris has already traveled to Detroit to appear with Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for Senate in Michigan, and she is scheduled to appear on Oct.
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- May 24, 1972
- Birthplace
- Dallas, Texas
- Education
- Skyline High School
Texas A&M University (undergraduate degree, 1994)
George Washington University (master's degree in international education)
Ohio State University (MA, JD and PhD)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Aaron Darnell Ford was born on May 24, 1972, and raised in Dallas, Texas. On a scholarship, he became the first member of his family to earn a college degree, completing an undergraduate degree at Texas A&M University in 1994.
He went on to complete a master's in international education at George Washington University and a master's degree, law degree and doctorate from Ohio State University.
He taught in public schools, served as a law clerk to federal judges Denise Page Hood and Johnnie B. Rawlinson, and practiced law in Texas and Nevada, working as an associate at Bracewell and at Weil Gotshal & Manges and later becoming a partner at Snell & Wilmer in Las Vegas.
Career
After losing a 2010 race for Nevada Senate District 12 to Republican incumbent Joe Hardy, Ford won District 11 in 2012, defeating Republican incumbent John Drake by 24.6 points, and served in the Nevada Senate from 2013 to 2018.
He was assistant majority whip in 2013, minority leader from 2015 and majority leader from 2017; in the 2017 session he led legislation setting deadlines for submitting and testing rape kits and creating a statewide kit tracking program.
In 2018 he was elected Nevada's 34th attorney general, defeating Republican Wesley Duncan by 0.4% of the vote, and he took office on January 7, 2019, as the first African American in Nevada to hold a constitutional office elected statewide.
He won reelection in 2022 with 52.3% of the vote to Republican Sigal Chattah's 44.4%. As attorney general he obtained opioid settlements for the state worth over $1.1 billion.
2026 race
Ford, a Democrat who is term-limited as attorney general, confirmed in December 2024 that he would run for governor and formally launched his campaign in July 2025. In the June 9, 2026, Democratic primary he won 63.8% of the vote over Washoe commission chair Alexis Hill. In the November 3, 2026, general election he faces Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, who is seeking a second term and won his party's primary with 91.0%.