Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo is on the ballot Tuesday in a Republican primary that will decide whether the incumbent can keep moving toward a second term. He faces six challengers, while Democrats are holding their own race to settle who will try to take the governor's office back in November.
The contest is drawing unusual attention for an off-year primary because Nevada has no presidential race and no U.S. Senate race on the ballot this cycle. Even so, the governor's race has become the main driver of campaign ad spending in the state, with the outcome carrying weight well beyond Carson City.
Lombardo was elected in 2022, when he defeated then-incumbent Steve Sisolak by 1.5 percentage points. The Democratic field now includes Attorney General Aaron Ford and Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, giving voters a clear choice on both sides of the governor's race as the state heads into a November rematch for the office.
The primary ballot goes far beyond the governor's contest. Voters are also choosing nominees for U.S. House seats and a range of state offices, and roughly half of Nevada's 21 state Senate seats plus all 42 state House seats are on the ballot this year. Democrats hold both chambers of the Legislature, which raises the stakes for every down-ballot race as well.
One of the other closely watched contests is in Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, where Republican Mark Amodei is not seeking an eighth full term. Former state Sen. James Settelmeyer, financial adviser and small business owner David Flippo, and 11 others are competing there, with Trump endorsing Flippo after carrying the district with about 56% of the vote in 2024.
That race underscores how the state can split in different directions at once. Amodei won reelection in 2024 with 55% of the vote, yet the district also backed Trump by about 56%, a reminder that Nevada's electorate can reward different parties depending on the race and the candidate.
For Henderson voters, the local race is just as immediate. Mayor Michelle Romero is seeking a second term in the state's second-largest city against four challengers, including former Henderson police Chief Hollie Chadwick. If no candidate wins a majority, the top two finishers will move to a runoff in the November general election.
What happens next is simple and decisive: polls close at 7 p.m. PT, or 10 p.m. ET, and the first returns should start answering whether Lombardo can clear his primary field, whether Ford or Hill can pull ahead for Democrats, and whether Henderson is headed for another round in November. In a state that often helps shape the national map, the first real test begins when the counting does.
