Nevada
McKenna Ross’ top Nevada politics stories of 2025
The Silver State was plenty purple in 2025.
Nevada has long had a reputation for its libertarian tilt. Nowadays, partisanship leads many political stories. In top state government and politics stories of the year, some political lines were blurred when politicians bucked their party’s go-to stances to make headlines, while other party stances stayed entrenched.
Here are a handful of the biggest stories out of Nevada government and politics in 2025.
Film tax credit saga returns for parts 2 and 3
A large-scale effort to bring a film studio to Southern Nevada was revived — and died twice — in 2025. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. Discovery, who were previously leading opposing efforts to build multi-acre studio lots with tax breaks, joined forces in February to back one bill in front of the Nevada Legislature. They were joined by developer Howard Hughes Corp. in a lobbying push throughout the four-month session, then once again during a seven-day special legislative session in mid-November.
The renewed legislation drew plenty of praise from union and business leaders and created an unlikely coalition of fiscal conservatives and progressives on the left against it. Proponents said the proposal would help create a new industry for Nevada, creating thousands of construction and entertainment industry-related jobs. Opponents criticized the billion-dollar effect it would have on the state’s general fund as a “Hollywood handout.”
In the end, the opposition won out. It passed the Assembly 22-20 in the last week of the regular session and received the same vote count during the special session — though six members switched their votes.
The state Senate voted on the proposed Summerlin Studios project only during the special session, where it failed because 11 senators voted against it or were absent for the Nov. 19 vote. Several lawmakers called out the intense political pressure to pass the bill, despite their concerns of how the subsidies would have affected state coffers.
Democrats fight to strengthen mail-in voting
The movement to enshrine mail-in voting in Nevada also stretched through both 2025 legislative sessions, as well as a federal Supreme Court case.
Democratic lawmakers sought to establish state laws around voting by mail, including about the placement of ballot boxes between early voting and Election Day and the timeline in which clerks had to count mailed ballots received after polls closed.
Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, proposed a compromise with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo through a bill expanding ballot drop box access in the run-up to Election Day and implementing voter ID requirements, but Lombardo vetoed the bill.
Democrats found a way during the special session, however. In the final hour before the session’s end on Nov. 19, Senate Democrats introduced and considered a resolution to propose enshrining mail-in voting in the Nevada Constitution via a voter amendment. The resolution must past the next consecutive session before it can go on the 2028 general election ballot.
This all comes as the U.S. Supreme Court weighs a case that could affect Nevada’s existing law that allows ballots postmarked on Election Day to be counted as late as 5 p.m. four days after Election Day.
Cyberattack on Nevada cripples the state for weeks
Nevada state government was crippled for four weeks in the late summer and fall when a ransomware attack was discovered in state systems in August.
Many state services were moved off-line to sequester the IT threats, leading to 28 days of outages after the Aug. 24 discovery of the ransomware attack. Those included worker’s compensation claims, DMV services, online applications for social services and a background check system.
According to the after-action report, a malicious actor entered the state’s computer system as early as May 14. The threat actor had accessed “multiple critical servers” by the end of August. State officials emphasized that core financial systems and Department of Motor Vehicle data were not breached by the hackers.
The state did not pay a ransom, according to officials. Instead, it worked with external cybersecurity vendors to deal with incident response and recovered about 90 percent of affected data. That costed about $1.5 million for those contracts and overtime pay.
Budget woes leave state in status quo limbo
Financial uncertainty clouded Nevada state government throughout the year as the impact of federal purse-shrinking, uncertainty around the effect of Trump administration tariffs and the reduced tax revenue from a tourism slump persisted throughout 2025.
Nevada lawmakers passing the state’s two-year budget cycle were put in a tight spot when economic forecasts projecting state revenue were downgraded during the legislative session and ultimately passed a state budget that avoided funding multiple new programs.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.
The Las Vegas Raiders have orchestrated many groundbreaking moves this offseason, but none as important as the impact they made at a fundraising event.
Over the weekend, the Raiders hosted the Silver & Black Gala, raising $2.5 million for mental health in Nevada. Sunday marked the third time the organization had hosted the event, which has produced a tremendous turnout.
Several individuals spoke during the event, including Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis and president Sandra Douglass Morgan, who each highlighted the importance of acknowledging mental health.
Davis’ Thoughts
- “We’re here to raise money for mental health, which is one of the most important things we can all deal with,” Davis said. “Every one of us is impacted by mental health and our families, friends, or anywhere else, we are all directly affected. That’s why it’s so critical to raise money for our community. We’re grateful for you all, and appreciate you being here.”
Morgan’s Thoughts
“Mental health remains one of the most urgent issues across Nevada,” Morgan said. “Through the Silver & Black Gala, the Raiders Foundation is helping expand access to trusted, community-based resources that meet people where they are. This year’s recipients reflect the depth and complexity of that work, supporting our community in schools, clubhouses, homes, shelters, and family systems statewide.”
The Raiders also honored former player Carl Nassib and NFL broadcaster Jay Glazer on Sunday night as the winners of the Commitment to Excellence award. Here is what each of them had to say.
Glazer’s Thoughts
- “First, this is incredible what the Raiders are doing,” Glazer said. “God blessed me with the ability to communicate, so I’m going to use that to try and help other people. When we’re willing to share our scars, we turn them into strength—into something that connects us as teammates with nothing to hide. That’s what builds a true team, a championship team. I’m proud to stand with you and be part of this team tonight.”
Nassib’s Thoughts
- “It is truly a privilege to be up here,” Nassib said. “We’re creating space for people to be vulnerable—and that work is truly lifesaving. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about showing up and reminding people they’re not alone.”
Overall Thoughts
This has been a tremendous event over the last few years, and the Raiders’ organization has done a great job of raising awareness for mental health. This will be an event that the team will continue to host in the future.
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Nevada
Nevada workers fear homelessness as housing, jobs vanish before July deadline | Fox News Video
The final casino resort in Primm, Nevada, will close this summer after years of declining tourism, ending gaming operations in the once-busy border town and putting hundreds of employees out of work.
Primm Valley Casino Resorts is shutting down its remaining hotel and casino operations in July as experts point to increased competition, changing travel habits and post-pandemic losses behind the decline.
RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo (R) is in a strong position heading into the thick of his 2026 reelection bid — a huge war chest, almost universal name recognition and strong favorability numbers among the electorate.
Though Lombardo is likely focusing on the general election already, he faces 6 longshot candidates in the GOP primary seeking to upset him in June.
Nevada Governor GOP primary: 6 longshot candidates taking on incumbent Joe Lombardo
The challengers face a ‘Herculean’ task, said Mike Noble, CEO and founder of Noble Predictive Insights, an Arizona-based nonpartisan pollster focusing on the Southwest region.
“I see it as a Herculean task for anyone. If someone was coming in with like, I don’t know $10 million or something to spend, sure I can see that might be competitive, but I don’t see any of them coming anywhere near close to that. And so again, I just think I think it’s a non-factor at this point,” Noble said.
RELATED | Ballot Battleground: Nevada podcast: Early Noble poll shows dead heat in governor’s race
Despite the long odds, News 4-Fox 11 reached out to all candidates requesting an interview as part of our commitment to 2026 election coverage and our Know Your Candidates series. Three of the 7 running interviewed with us — Irina Hansen, Kameron Hawkins, Lombardo and Jose Zelaya did not respond to multiple emails requesting an interview.
We asked them similar questions about Gov. Lombardo’s leadership as governor, how they would pass a balanced budget and whether they support taxpayer subsidies for sports teams or major projects.
Click the candidate’s name to watch their full interview. Quotes below have been edited for space and clarity.
Donald J. Beaudry Jr. is an entrepreneur who founded BlkEdgeAi, a financial technology firm specializing in AI-driven trading systems and market strategy, according to his campaign website.
He told News 4-Fox 11 that Nevada has been drifting the last four years with ‘no captain, no vision.’ He believes his Wall Street-like trading market called NGEX (Nevada Global Exchange) would generate enough revenue to eliminate sales taxes, property taxes, business taxes and vehicle registration fees.
“I completely blueprinted it out and calculated that this model could generate enough revenue in this state that we could eliminate all the state taxes and fees that are currently in place and use that as the revenue source for the state and make everybody, every man, woman and child throughout Nevada, a shareholder in the dividends of that exchange … it would be a kind of Wall Street type of stock market, but far broader, more advanced, and exponentially more profitable.”
Matthew Rian Winterhawk is the founder of SmartSlaps foundation, a nonprofit that works to help schools and students with civic engagement and community responsibility.
If elected, he described going through a DOGE-like review of the state budget to determine which areas can be cut or kept depending on their ‘dollar to impact’ ratio.
“What I would like to do is go through every department, I’m talking top to bottom, from here from the primary to the beginning. We will cut every piece of administrative bloat across the system … I need more money for my teachers. Teachers never see it, students never see it, the impact never reaches the classroom. It’s 100% administrative bloat.”
The son of immigrants, Barak Zilberberg is now an entrepreneur and real estate investor based in Las Vegas. He ran for governor in 2022, earning 0.2% of the vote in the GOP primary. He told News 4-Fox 11 he’s also running for President in 2028.
He said he’s running for governor to improve the educational system, bring jobs to Nevada and open up federal land to build more affordable housing.
“We’ve got get high-speed railing systems in here where we can transit very easily, efficiently, and basically moving around between economies of both cities. Not only that, I’d like to bring Disneyland here and the Olympics, sponsor the Olympics here. I just want to make this a well-known place of entertainment, a hub.”
To help voters make informed decisions this election year, News 4-Fox 11 is publishing and broadcasting dozens of interviews with candidates who will appear on the June primary ballot.
In fairness to all candidates, they were asked a series of similar questions. We are posting the full interviews online so voters can watch their responses in their entirety.
Visit our Know Your Candidates 2026 page to view other race previews and meet other candidates.
Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on X and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.
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