Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo s Political Maneuvering: A Look at 2024 Campaign Strategies

Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo has publicly endorsed Donald Trump for president. However, Lombardo’s primary focus for the 2024 election season doesn’t seem to be on Trump’s campaign in Nevada. Notably, he has not attended any of Trump’s rallies in the state this year.

Lombardo has also thrown his support behind Republican Sam Brown in the U.S. Senate race. Yet, he has not actively participated in Brown’s campaign, showing little enthusiasm for helping him unseat Democratic incumbent Senator Jacky Rosen. A Republican win in Nevada could have significantly bolstered the party’s chances of regaining control of the Senate.

Currently, the Republican Party holds a slim majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, but forecasts suggest that Democrats are likely to take control, albeit in a tightly contested race. Earlier this year, there was speculation that all three Democratic U.S. House members from Nevada might face challenging reelection campaigns. However, Lombardo has made it clear that supporting Republican candidates in these races is not among his top priorities.

One particularly noteworthy race was for Nevada’s third congressional district, where State Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama was set to challenge Democratic Rep. Susie Lee. Kasama had been highlighted by national media as a strong candidate who could help Republicans not only maintain but potentially expand their House majority. However, Lombardo recruited Kasama to focus on winning reelection in the state Assembly instead. As a result, she withdrew from the congressional race in January. By April, Lombardo was publicly praising legislation proposed by Lee aimed at hiring more federal land appraisers.

The candidate Lombardo endorsed to run against Lee ultimately lost the primary to Drew Johnson, who now has only a 9% chance of defeating the Democratic incumbent.

Relevance is Job One

Lombardo’s main goal for the 2024 election appears to be breaking the current Democratic supermajority in the state Assembly. This would ensure that even if Democrats secure a two-thirds majority in the state Senate, Lombardo’s vetoes could still hold significant power over legislation he opposes.

His immediate concern also ties into a longer-term goal: his reelection in the 2026 cycle. Democrats are expected to maintain control of both houses of the Nevada Legislature when it convenes in early 2025, just before the next general election. They held that control in Lombardo’s first year as governor in 2023.

In that year, Lombardo’s key initiatives included a $250 million gas tax holiday, $500 million in public funding for private schools, and efforts to repeal criminal justice reforms. However, almost all of these proposals were dismissed by legislative Democrats, who did not engage in fierce opposition but simply ignored them.

Despite this, Lombardo managed to maintain an image of an active governor. He called a special legislative session to allocate millions in subsidies to a California billionaire who owns a baseball team, which garnered bipartisan support. More importantly, Lombardo made headlines with his numerous vetoes—more than any governor in Nevada’s history.

His vetoes targeted bills aimed at protecting tenants from unfair fees and quick evictions, reducing healthcare costs, and addressing various issues that received broad bipartisan support. Lombardo’s approach to vetoes became emblematic of his governance, akin to Oprah’s famous car giveaway—“You get a veto, and you get a veto!”

Now, Lombardo and fellow Republicans want voters to believe that if Democrats retain their supermajority in the Assembly and gain one in the Senate, they will pursue extreme leftist policies. However, Lombardo and his allies know that even with supermajorities, Democrats are unlikely to enact such radical legislation.

What could happen, though, is that many of the modest laws passed by Democrats, which Lombardo vetoed in 2023, could be enacted without his approval. This would significantly diminish the significance of Lombardo’s governorship. As he heads into his reelection campaign, appearing as a powerless bystander may not be the best image to project.