Joe Lombardo

Joe Lombardo was born in Japan into a military family and moved around the world before his father's posting at Nellis Air Force Base brought the family to Las Vegas.¹ His own family includes his wife, Donna, daughter Morgan, stepchildren Lacey and Jackson, and grandson Theodore.¹

He attended Rancho High School and UNLV, served in the Army and Nevada National Guard, and joined the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.¹ Over 26 years before becoming sheriff, his assignments ranged from detective to assistant sheriff; he earned a master's degree in crisis management while working in policing.¹ As sheriff, he oversaw about 6,000 employees and a budget of roughly $1.3 billion.¹ He won the Clark County sheriff's election in 2014, was reelected in 2018 and became governor in January 2023.²

His first term included signing a $2.6 billion school funding increase approved in 2023, alongside policies expanding school choice and reinstating a third grade reading retention requirement.³ That reading rule is scheduled to take effect in 2028; he also vetoed proposals on universal school meals and mandatory bargaining over class sizes.³

For another term, Lombardo supports keeping Nevada's law restricting compulsory union membership, requiring voter identification, retaining the death penalty and avoiding new taxes.⁴ He faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, with their differences over housing, labor policy, criminal justice and education funding setting the direction of the governor's race.⁴