Lombardo leans on church visits and door-knocking as the Nevada governor race tightens in its final days

What happened

In the final week before Election Day, Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) has focused on small, local stops rather than big media events, The Nevada Independent reported. Those stops included a Baptist church, a conservative radio interview, a Romanian Orthodox church in Las Vegas and the groundbreaking for Nevada's first stand-alone children's hospital.

At the St. George & St. Dimitrie Romanian Orthodox Church, nine days before Election Day, Lombardo warned about low midterm turnout. He said that "when there isn't a president on the ballot, people tend to be a little apathetic and they don't show up," according to The Nevada Independent.

Two very different campaign styles

Lombardo keeps it local

The outlet reported that only the hospital groundbreaking, a door-knocking event and one national figure's visit were announced to the media. The biggest name campaigning for Lombardo in the home stretch is former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R). Lombardo told The Nevada Independent that faith-based and other communities should hear from him directly, a lesson he said he learned as a police officer and sheriff.

On Wednesday, his campaign knocked its 50,000th door at a home in Summerlin, the outlet reported. A nearly identical house across the street displayed a Ford for Governor sign.

Ford goes national

Ford, the Democratic nominee, is holding multiple press conferences each week, working with social media personalities and campaigning with 2028 hopefuls including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, according to The Nevada Independent. Ford has tied Lombardo closely to President Trump, while Lombardo is trying to come across as a moderate who runs on his record. Readers can see more on those visits in our look at 2028 Democratic hopefuls stopping in Nevada.

Affordability and the Trump factor

A familiar playbook

The Nevada Independent noted that Ford is using nearly the same approach Lombardo used to defeat former Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) in 2022, when Lombardo linked Sisolak to President Joe Biden and focused on inflation. Emerson College polling shows 43 percent of Nevada voters see the economy as their top issue, the outlet reported, with gas prices near record highs and housing costs still high.

UNLV political science professor Rebecca Gill told the outlet the race has tightened as the president's popularity has dropped. UNR professor Jeremy Gelman said the policies voters blamed on Sisolak were directly traceable to him, while Ford is trying to make "that extra jump to Trump as president."

Warning signs and precedents

GOP super PACs have pulled spending from Southern Nevada House races once seen as competitive, the outlet reported, though Lombardo's favorability ratings remain double digits higher than the president's. The Nevada Independent pointed to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto's 2022 win and former Gov. Jim Gibbons' 2006 win as examples of candidates surviving hostile midterm years.

Ads, money and voters

AdImpact counts $76 million spent on the race, according to The Nevada Independent. Lombardo's ads tout job growth, $900 million in down payment assistance and support from Democrats such as Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, whose reasoning we covered in why Wolfson backs Lombardo. Third-party groups backing Lombardo have spent millions attacking Ford over out-of-state travel and clemency votes.

At the Nevada Day parade in Carson City, attendees told the outlet they preferred positive ads about what candidates stand for. Lombardo's campaign has also claimed credit in TV ads for the children's hospital, and the outlet noted Las Vegas is the largest metropolitan area without a standalone children's hospital.

Lombardo will need a sizable share of nonpartisan voters, the state's largest voting bloc, the outlet reported. Gelman said the candidates may only affect the margins, adding that the broad direction of the electorate is a "cake" that "is baked." For timing on returns, see our guide to Nevada election night results.

What to watch next

• Election Day results in the governor's race between Lombardo and Ford.
• How nonpartisan voters, the state's largest bloc, split between the two candidates.
• Outcomes in Southern Nevada House races where GOP super PACs withdrew spending.