3 candidates are on the ballot. Below is what each one says they stand for, what they have actually done in office or in public life, and the arguments published for and against them — each quoted from a named source rather than summarised by us.
3 candidates · ballot order · Joe Lombardo currently holds this seat
Medium confidenceMedium confidenceThe candidate's stated positions and basic record are documented, but coverage is thin — often little independent reporting, or criticism from only one side.What would raise it: More independent reporting, a documented voting record, or published criticism from a named opponent would raise this.
What they say they stand for
Their own words. Claims, not verified facts.
No new taxes; he opposes resetting property tax values and has kept the pledge from his first campaign.
Public safety and 'law and order,' including lowering the felony theft threshold from $1,200 to $750.
Supporting the death penalty as a deterrent.
Voter identification requirements; he backed the 2024 ballot measure that passed.
Housing supply through the release of federal land in Nevada for attainable housing, worked out with the Trump administration.
Cutting regulation and red tape for small businesses.
On abortion, he says he personally supports a 15-week limit but that the question should be decided by Nevada voters rather than politicians.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Governor of Nevada since January 2023; sheriff of Clark County 2014-2022; Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer from 1988.
Issued 75 vetoes in the 2023 legislative session, a state record for a single session, against a Democratic-controlled legislature.
Vetoed, twice, legislation that would have capped prescription drug prices in Nevada at the rate the federal government negotiates for Medicare.
Approved $200 million for the 'Campus for Hope' project providing temporary housing and social services for people experiencing homelessness.
Vetoed legislation aimed at stabilising rents and protecting tenants, and a slate of 2025 bills the Culinary Union said would have helped tourism-industry workers.
Won the June 9 2026 Republican primary with about 91% of the vote.
Entered 2026 with roughly $14-15 million between his campaign account and the affiliated Nevada Way PAC.
Arguments in favor
He has results to point to from a first term run against a legislature controlled by the other party: the $200 million Campus for Hope for homeless Nevadans, a federal land release for attainable housing, and the sixth-fastest employment growth of any state since 2022.
— Joe Lombardo for Nevada campaign
He kept his no-new-taxes pledge and used the veto to stop tax and regulatory increases during an affordability crisis, which supporters treat as the main thing a Republican governor in a Democratic-legislature state can deliver.
— Joe Lombardo for Nevada campaign and the Better Nevada state PAC
He ran the Las Vegas police department as sheriff for eight years, so his public safety agenda — lowering the felony theft threshold, opposing sanctuary policies — comes from having done the job.
— Republican Governors Association
Arguments against
He shows 'a pattern of rewarding billionaires while vetoing bills for Nevada families' — his campaign is funded by donors who benefited from a veto, a firing or a favourable regulatory decision, and Nevada OSHA's $400,000-plus safety fine against Elon Musk's Boring Company was rescinded a day after it was issued.
— Democratic Governors Association
He 'caved to Donald Trump' on Medicaid cuts that cost the state and threaten nursing homes and rural hospitals, and vetoed prescription drug price caps twice while taking hundreds of thousands of dollars from pharmaceutical companies. 'No amount of dark money can paper over Joe Lombardo's record of caving to Donald Trump and making Nevadans' health care more expensive.'
— Kate Sosland, Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson
He vetoed a slate of 2025 bills that would have helped tourism-industry workers, alongside rent stabilisation and tenant protection legislation.
— Culinary Workers Union Local 226
What we couldn’t verify
His official 2026 campaign website could not be verified — the domain that appeared in search results returned a certificate error — so no URL is listed.
Whether he would sign a bill limiting corporate investors from buying single-family homes; he did not directly answer The Nevada Independent's question and has previously blocked similar bills.
His specific plan for data centre energy and water use beyond saying existing processes are adequate.
Affordability first: he says the path forward is 'slipping further and further out of reach for working Nevadans.'
Housing — limiting corporate investors buying single-family homes, cracking down on predatory landlords, and streamlining municipal permitting.
Health care — targeting pharmacy benefit managers, a medical debt relief programme, and action on medical billing price gouging.
Data centres: 'not allow data centres to raise costs on Nevadans by one penny,' requiring them to bring their own clean energy and water commitments and halting tax breaks until they meet them.
Repealing Nevada's right-to-work law.
Enshrining abortion rights through 24 weeks in the Nevada constitution; repealing the death penalty; opposing photo voter ID.
Raising K-12 funding toward the national average and expanding pre-K, without new taxes.
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Attorney General of Nevada since January 2019; re-elected 2022.
Majority leader of the Nevada State Senate before becoming attorney general; formerly a math teacher and a personal injury lawyer.
Won about $1.2 billion for Nevada in opioid settlements as attorney general.
Sued over federal education funding and won student loan relief for Nevadans harmed by predatory lending.
Took at least four trips in 2024 worth a combined $35,000 to Attorney General Alliance conferences in destinations including Macau, Singapore, Normandy, Tulum and Taipei; total conference travel has been reported at more than $110,000.
The Nevada Commission on Ethics advanced complaints against him in February 2026 over the use of his office and the acceptance of those trips.
Won the June 9 2026 Democratic primary with about 63% over Alexis Hill.
Arguments in favor
He has an enforcement record to run on — roughly $1.2 billion recovered for Nevada in opioid settlements, student loan relief for defrauded borrowers, and suits to protect education funding.
— Aaron Ford for Nevada campaign
He is the only candidate committing that data centres will not shift a penny of their energy and water costs onto Nevada ratepayers, and would halt their tax breaks until they meet their commitments.
— Aaron Ford for Nevada campaign
He would repeal Nevada's right-to-work law and use the governorship to raise wages and protect union bargaining, which he presents as the difference between him and an incumbent who vetoed a slate of tourism-worker bills.
— Aaron Ford for Nevada campaign
Arguments against
He is a 'weak on crime prosecutor who is more interested in protecting criminal illegal immigrants than hardworking Nevada families' — pushing for Nevada to be a sanctuary state, recommending that law enforcement not work with federal immigration officials, and weakening penalties for fentanyl.
— Kollin Crompton, Republican Governors Association rapid response director
He has not been doing the job he already has: one statewide ad alleges he missed 420 days as attorney general while taking more than $110,000 in out-of-state and international trips paid for by outside groups.
— Better Nevada state PAC, which supports Joe Lombardo
An ethics complaint the Nevada Commission on Ethics advanced in February 2026 accuses him of using his office to benefit his private interests, including accepting more than $35,000 in luxury trips from the Attorney General Alliance, which is largely funded by corporations some of which are regulated by or in litigation with his office.
— Nevada Commission on Ethics, as reported by the Las Vegas Sun
What we couldn’t verify
The outcome of the Nevada Commission on Ethics proceedings, which were still pending as of the reporting located.
How he would raise K-12 funding by roughly $2 billion toward the national average without new taxes beyond 'growing the tax base.'
His current campaign finance totals relative to Lombardo's roughly $14-15 million.
Public education: she says her time as a school trustee and state board member showed her how much indirect control the governor has over K-12 policy through board appointments.
Independence from party and corporate influence — 'Somebody needs to run who's going to not be persuaded by corporate interests and be willing to untie some of these knots that have happened to Nevada.'
What they’ve actually done
Documented record from official sources.
Member of the Nevada State Board of Education, first term.
Former trustee of the Clark County School District.
Filed as a nonpartisan candidate, which under Nevada law required 250 signatures to reach the general election ballot.
Has not held statewide executive office.
Arguments in favor
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
Arguments against
We found none published about this candidate in the sources reviewed.
What we couldn’t verify
A detailed policy platform beyond education and anti-corporate-influence framing could not be established; no campaign website was located.
No organised advocacy for her candidacy and no criticism of her by name from an opposing campaign or outlet could be found, so no arguments are listed on either side.
Positions and criticism are quoted from the named sources, not our assessments. This is built to help you start getting informed — confirm the official candidate list with your election authority before you vote.
Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo is seeking a second term. Roster established from Wikipedia's race page, The Nevada Independent's 2026 general election voter guide, NBC News and KTNV, cross-checked. Lombardo won the June 9 2026 Republican primary with about 91%; Attorney General Aaron Ford won the Democratic primary with about 63% over Washoe County Commission chair Alexis Hill. Danielle Ford, a state Board of Education member, filed as a nonpartisan and goes straight to the general ballot. Two caveats a reader should know: Politics1 lists six further independent filers for this office — Chris Battenberg, Max Beck, Jordan Koteras, Allen Rheinhart, Emilio Rodriguez and John Scott — and it could not be confirmed which of them met Nevada's signature requirement and will actually appear on the certified ballot, so they are named here rather than profiled from nothing. Separately, Nevada statewide ballots also carry the option 'None of these candidates,' which is not a person and is not listed below. Danielle Ford is listed with empty argument sections: no organised advocacy for her candidacy and no criticism of her by name from an opposing campaign or outlet could be found.
This is one contest on a longer ballot
A Nevada ballot also carries state legislative districts, county offices, judicial seats and often local questions — and which of them you vote on is decided by your street address, not your city or ZIP code.