Nevada Democrats will hold the governor's office and both legislative chambers but fell one Senate seat short of a supermajority

What happened in Tuesday's election

Nevada Democrats won the governor's office, the other statewide offices, control of the Legislature and all four congressional seats in the 2026 midterm, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. The paper described the results as part of a national blue wave that also flipped the U.S. House and Senate to Democrats.

For a broader look at the results, see our earlier piece on Nevada midterm takeaways. This brief focuses on what the outcome means for state government in Carson City.

The governor's race

A wider margin than polls showed

Attorney General Aaron Ford led Gov. Joe Lombardo 51.7 percent to 44 percent as of Friday, according to the Review-Journal. Emerson College Polling surveys in November 2025 and early September showed the two in a statistical dead heat, and a Noble Predictive poll the week before Election Day showed a virtual tie.

By comparison, Lombardo defeated former Gov. Steve Sisolak by 1.5 percentage points in 2022. On election night, Lombardo had warned supporters that early returns could show him losing and then turn around, as happened to him in 2022.

A historic first

Ford will be Nevada's first Black governor, and the Review-Journal reported he is the first elected in any state west of the Mississippi River. Americans had only elected three Black governors before this year.

What the Legislature results mean

Supermajority in one chamber

Democrats won a supermajority, or two-thirds of the seats, in the Assembly but fell one seat short in the Senate, the Review-Journal reported. The Associated Press counted Democratic wins in 28 of 42 Assembly races and seven of 11 Senate races.

A supermajority in both chambers would have let Democrats raise taxes outright and override any vetoes. As long as most Democrats agree, the paper reported, they will have the votes to pass their agenda without Republican input, provided it does not involve raising taxes.

An end to divided government

For two regular sessions, Lombardo worked with a Legislature where Democrats held majorities in both houses. Lawmakers could kill Republican bills they opposed, while the governor could veto their bills. State Sen. Edgar Flores, D-Las Vegas, has been selected as Senate Majority Leader for the upcoming session, the Nevada Senate Democratic Caucus said Wednesday.

Congress and turnout

Former Assemblymember Teresa Benitez-Thompson led Republican David Flippo by more than 5 percentage points as of Friday in Northern Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, which has been held by Republicans since it was created after the 1980 Census. She will replace retiring Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., who refused to endorse Flippo and was kicked out of the Washoe County Republican Party as a result.

More than 209,000 Nevadans voted on Election Day, a figure comparable to the previous midterm, according to state figures cited by the Review-Journal. More than 60,000 additional voters had returned mail ballots as of Friday compared with 2022, and about 24,000 more voted early in person. The last voter in Las Vegas cast a ballot at almost 12 a.m. after waiting about five hours. Read more about Clark County Election Day lines.

Active-voter participation stood at 52.5 percent as of Friday, a couple of percentage points below 2022. Voters also approved constitutional amendments protecting abortion rights and requiring voter ID.

Daniele Monroe-Moreno, chair of the Nevada State Democratic Party, said she expects Nevada to stay competitive. "I think Nevada will always be a battleground state because we're a transient state," she told reporters, according to the Review-Journal.

What to watch next

• Final vote counts, since the margins reported by the Review-Journal were as of Friday.
• The upcoming legislative session, with Edgar Flores as Senate Majority Leader and Democrats holding an Assembly supermajority.
• Teresa Benitez-Thompson taking over the 2nd Congressional District seat from retiring Rep. Mark Amodei.
• Nevada's 2028 presidential primaries, where the state will vote second for both parties.