Aaron Ford accuses Gov. Joe Lombardo of shaping vetoes and decisions around campaign contributors as early voting nears

What happened

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democrat running for governor, used a Tuesday news conference in Las Vegas to argue that Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo's decisions follow the wishes of campaign contributors rather than policy reasons, the Nevada Current reported. The outlet described the contest as one of the tightest governor's races in the nation, with early voting days away.

Ford stopped short of a direct accusation. "Draw your own conclusions," he said, according to the Nevada Current. Lombardo's campaign did not immediately respond to the outlet's request for comment on Ford's allegations. Voters planning ahead can review Clark County mail ballot deadlines and drop boxes.

Ford's claims about Lombardo's vetoes

Housing and a billionaire donor

Ford said Lombardo is "only governor because a real estate billionaire gave him $30 million in campaign cash." The Nevada Current reported that Ford was referring to Robert Bigelow, who owns a number of weekly motels rented by people who cannot afford to buy a home or rent an apartment.

According to the outlet, Bigelow put roughly $30 million into Lombardo's campaign and a political action committee tied to him in 2022. Lombardo later vetoed a bill meant to lower housing costs by limiting how many homes corporate investors could buy. The Nevada Current reported that he then enlisted a Republican lawmaker to kill a similar bill.

Prescription drug prices

Ford also pointed to Lombardo's vetoes of two bills that would have capped prescription drug prices. "Then he's taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from greedy drug companies," Ford said, according to the Nevada Current.

Utility rates and NV Energy

Ford suggested that energy company contributions totaling $40,000 arrived after the Public Utilities Commission, whose members Lombardo appointed, approved NV Energy's controversial peak demand charge. The charge takes effect in January. The Nevada Current reported that the utility says the charge will not raise its revenue but will shift how the cost of serving rooftop solar customers is spread.

Water engineer firing and mining contributions

The Nevada Current noted that some critics point to issues beyond vetoes. Last year, Lombardo fired Adam Sullivan, the state's longtime water engineer. The firing came a month after mining companies complained to the governor's office about Sullivan's efforts to reduce groundwater pumping in some areas, as the Nevada Independent reported in April.

Campaign contribution reports show that Nevada Gold Mines, a joint venture of Barrick and Newmont, gave Lombardo $500,000 in 2024 and another $500,000 in March of this year, according to the Nevada Current.

The economy and Trump's visit

Ford said housing, health care and utility costs are "sky high." He accused Lombardo of choosing to "use his veto pen to pad the pockets of Trump's billionaire friends." With gasoline above $5.00 a gallon, Ford said Trump and Lombardo are "gaslighting" Nevadans about the economy.

The Nevada Current reported that the news conference came hours before President Donald Trump was expected to spend the night at his Strip hotel ahead of a Wednesday rally in Bullhead City, Arizona. It also came the same day Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned as U.S. ambassador to Greece. Her resignation followed allegations that she tried to sell access to the president in exchange for payment of her $100,000 credit card bill.

Reporters asked Ford about different forms of grifting by government officials, and he declined to draw parallels. "I'll leave it to others to draw their own conclusions," he said, according to the Nevada Current.

What to watch next

• Early voting in the governor's race begins within days, according to the Nevada Current.
• Whether Lombardo's campaign responds to Ford's allegations. It had not responded at the time of the Nevada Current's report.
• NV Energy's peak demand charge, approved by the Public Utilities Commission, is set to take effect in January.