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One of America's most at-risk GOP governors gets a Democratic challenger - POLITICO
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/americas-most-at-risk-gop-governor-gets-a-democratic-challenger-00477976Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford was once on Medicaid and food stamps. Now he plans to unseat Gov. Joe Lombardo by talking about Republican cuts to those same programs.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is running for governor. | Bridget Bennett/AP
It’s hard to unseat an incumbent governor. But Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has a plan to try.
The Democrat announced his campaign for governor Monday, entering the race with just over 10 months to go until the primary.
Once a recipient of food stamps and Medicaid benefits, Ford now plans to run against Republicans’ cuts to those same programs, which he says will deeply impact Nevadans.
“It was Medicaid that enabled my son and me to have the health care we needed in order to be able to survive. It was food stamps that kept us fed,” Ford said in an interview, explaining that he and his son used these programs for a year and a half when he was a single father attending college. “It hits me … particularly hard to know that people are about to be hit in those areas.”
If he wins the primary, Ford will likely face Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is expected to run for reelection. Lombardo surprised many by unseating incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022, and is widely considered to be the most at-risk incumbent Republican governor headed into 2026.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford is running for governor. | Bridget Bennett/AP
It’s hard to unseat an incumbent governor. But Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford has a plan to try.
The Democrat announced his campaign for governor Monday, entering the race with just over 10 months to go until the primary.
Once a recipient of food stamps and Medicaid benefits, Ford now plans to run against Republicans’ cuts to those same programs, which he says will deeply impact Nevadans.
“It was Medicaid that enabled my son and me to have the health care we needed in order to be able to survive. It was food stamps that kept us fed,” Ford said in an interview, explaining that he and his son used these programs for a year and a half when he was a single father attending college. “It hits me … particularly hard to know that people are about to be hit in those areas.”
If he wins the primary, Ford will likely face Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is expected to run for reelection. Lombardo surprised many by unseating incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022, and is widely considered to be the most at-risk incumbent Republican governor headed into 2026.