Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford formally announcing his candidacy for governor in Las Vegas Monday. (Photo: Dana Gentry/Nevada Current)
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, positioned himself as the champion of the underdog Monday when he announced his candidacy for governor before a crowd of supporters in Las Vegas.
“I know what it’s like to feel like you’re pushing a rock up a hill in the fight for a better life. And families all across Nevada are feeling it, too,” he said. “It feels like the deck is stacked against them. And you know what? It is. I’m fighting for the kind of government that sees people like I was and says, ‘you matter.’”
“I know what it’s like to struggle,” Ford said, adding that as children, he and his brother ate stale candy bars, scavenged by his father, a grocery store employee, from the discarded food where he worked. “We weren’t broken but we didn’t have much.”
Ford, a one-time public school teacher, attorney, and former state lawmaker, is serving his second term as attorney general. He has one primary challenger thus far in the gubernatorial contest – Washoe County Commission Chairwoman Alexis Hill, who has yet to formally announce her candidacy.
Hill, in a statement to the Current, congratulated Ford “on being the Dem insiders’ choice. I look forward to engaging with Nevadans on concrete plans, real solutions and change when I formally announce for governor soon.”
Ford has been endorsed thus far by U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez and Jacky Rosen, as well as U.S. Reps. Dina Titus and Steven Horsford, who both attended the announcement Monday, as well as fellow Democratic Rep. Susie Lee.
The state Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in a primary election.
“As the party chair, I’m happy when anyone gets in the race,” Assemblywoman Danielle Monroe-Moreno, who attended the event, told the Current. “If Alexis invites me, I’ll be there. I know Alexis. I love Alexis’ family.”
The winner of the primary will likely face Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is seeking a second term.
Monroe-Moreno identified the harm that will come to Nevadans as a result of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act as Lombardo’s greatest vulnerability.
Ford never mentioned his primary opponent and took aim directly at Lombardo, who he said “has been kowtowing” to Trump while Ford has been taking the administration to court. “I sued both Trump and the Biden administration. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle you’re on. If someone hurts Nevada families, I’m not backing down.”
Ford noted that Lombardo, when asked by a reporter about the impact of Trump’s tariffs, said Nevadans “‘may have to feel a little pain.’ Can you believe that our governor wants families to feel pain while he caters to the powerful? Well, thanks to Joe Lombardo and Donald Trump, there’s plenty of pain to go around.”
Ford criticized Lombardo for enlisting a Republican lawmaker to kill legislation that would have limited home buying by out-of-state corporations, whose purchases jack up the prices in Nevada neighborhoods. Under Lombardo’s watch, he added, Nevada has had the highest unemployment rate in the nation while job growth lags other states.
“The governor said that we should be excited about Trump’s betrayal of a tax bill, excited that it’s going to blow a hole in our state budget; that it’s going to rip healthcare away from over 100,000 Nevadans; that two of our rural hospitals will have to close or to cut essential services,” Ford said. “Maybe we should be excited about slashing SNAP benefits for more than a half a million Nevadans to rely upon.”
As the single father of an infant while in college, Ford says food stamps kept him and his young son “from going hungry.”
Ford promised that if elected, he’ll bring prescription drug prices in line with Medicaid’s negotiated prices. He also vowed to hold corporations accountable for price fixing. Lombardo vetoed a bill this year championed by Ford that would have prohibited price-gouging for essential goods and services such as housing, pharmaceuticals, and energy.
He also promised free school lunches for all Nevada students.
Ford’s chances of defeating Lombardo could depend on whether Trump-weary voters galvanize during the midterm election next year to generate a blue wave in purple Nevada.
According to his campaign, in 2022, Ford won more votes than any candidate in Nevada midterm history, easily winning re-election in a race against Republican firebrand Sigal Chattah.
NBC News has labeled Lombardo as the most vulnerable Republican governor seeking reelection next year. The governor’s support for Trump’s deportation policies could erode his support among Latino voters, an essential voting bloc in the state.
“It’s breathtaking to see a candidate who speaks our language,” state Sen. Fabian Doñate said of Ford, who briefly addressed the crowd in Spanish.
Doñate, who has endorsed Ford, said he considered the wisdom of making a commitment at this early stage of the race, but says he likely would have heard from other interested candidates.
Ford, he said, “has always shown up for our community. He’s always had an open door for me.
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Author: Dana Gentry
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