The Fox News Decision Desk can project that Sheriff Joe Lombardo, a Republican, will become the next Governor of Nevada. He has unseated Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak.
The economy and inflation, education, crime, and the governor’s performance in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic were key issues in the gubernatorial campaign.
Sisolak was elected governor in 2018 after spending nearly a decade as a Clark County Commissioner. Lombardo, after serving more than two decades in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, was elected Clark County Sheriff in 2014. Clark County covers just 7% of the Nevada’s land area, but holds nearly three-quarters of the state’s population, making it by far Nevada’s most populous county.
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Then-Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak (L) talks to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo during a news conference on the mass shooting at a country music festival on Oct. 4, 2017, in Las Vegas.
(Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Lombardo advanced to the general election after winning a crowded and contentious GOP gubernatorial primary, thanks in part to an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who remains the Republican Party’s most popular and influential politicians.
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During the general election campaign, Lombardo said he did not support Trump’s repeated unproven claims that his 2020 loss to now-President Biden was due to a “rigged” and “stolen” election. But Lombardo appeared last month alongside Trump at a rally near Reno, Nevada.
The Republican Governors Association reacted in a statement Friday night.
“The RGA is excited to congratulate Governor-elect Sheriff Joe Lombardo on winning Nevada’s gubernatorial race,” said RGA Co-Chairs Governors Doug Ducey and Pete Ricketts. “After four years of Steve Sisolak’s small business and job-killing policies, Governor-elect Lombardo’s unique perspective as a seasoned law enforcement officer and fiscal conservative will get the state moving in the right direction on behalf of all Nevada families. The RGA was proud to be a crucial partner in this race to elect Joe and fire Steve Sisolak. Our independent expenditure effort in Nevada was the largest in RGA history and we’re excited to have Joe joining our ranks.”
