Big takeaways from Nevada’s elections

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada’s 2026 election landscape is taking shape after primary results that set up high-stakes general election matchups for governor and the state’s U.S. House delegation. Political strategist Tal Eslick said the central question will be where voters focus.

“The question will be: If Nevada voters are willing to judge Governor Lombardo on his performance as governor or if they are going to really allow this election to be a referendum on President Trump,” said Eslick, a public affairs strategist with Vista Consulting.

Lombardo won his Republican primary handily with around 90 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Aaron Ford won the Democratic primary with around 63 percent of the vote.

Eslick said Ford’s strategy may be to nationalize the contest. “A national question about the direction of the country under President Trump. And to a certain extent under Republican rule both in the Senate and the House,” Eslick said.

Nevadans will not have a U.S. Senate race this cycle, but all three U.S. House seats in southern Nevada are on the ballot. Candidates endorsed by Trump won their primaries and are set to face Democratic incumbents Susie Lee and Dina Titus. Republican Cody Whipple won the District 4 primary and will face incumbent Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford. Trump did not endorse a candidate in District 4.

“The ability to win a primary is very different than the ability to win in a general election,” Eslick said.

Eslick said both parties could face challenges appealing to voters in the political middle, with Democrats confronting the dynamics of being longtime incumbents and Republicans having to answer for current policy. He pointed to independent voters as a key bloc in November.

“You have independent voters. Voters who do not associate with either party. And they are going to be the deciding factor in this race beyond that obvious enthusiasm gap, and that is why you might see the messages coming from both candidates tacked towards the middle,” Eslick said.

In Clark County, a contentious Republican primary for county commissioner also appeared to be settled, with Heidi Kasama defeating fellow Republican Albert Mack in District F.

“It certainly makes it tough when you have a nasty primary to then go back to voters and say, ‘Hey, we can appreciate your perspective,’” Eslick said. “Because in a general election, obviously, you want some support from any majority; whether it is of your party or otherwise.”

Groups supporting Kasama circulated an AI or photoshopped image of a sign showing Mack supposedly next to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting Mack supported Clinton—an allegation Mack denies.

Eslick said attacks involving AI may be less effective in the general election, given public concerns about the technology and its broader impacts.

“There is a real underlying question, and certainly in Nevada, about what AI means for American workers, what AI means for developing energy, what it means for the cleanliness of water,” Eslick said. “That is going to be a debate that, again, people are going to be talking about at their kitchen tables as they are deciding who they are going to support in the election.”

The general election for all races is set for November 3, 2026.