LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new poll finds the race for Nevada governor tightening, with incumbent Republican Joe Lombardo just slightly ahead of his chief Democratic rival, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford.
According to the survey by Arizona-based Noble Predictive Insights, Lombardo leads Ford 39% to 38%, with 17% undecided and 6% supporting third-party candidates.
WATCH| Steve Sebelius talks to locals their thoughts on Nevada’s gubernatorial race
New poll finds race for Nevada governor tightening
In the last Noble survey, conducted in October, Lombardo led Ford 40% to 37%, with 23% undecided.
Mike Noble, founder and CEO of Noble Predictive Insights, said governor’s contests in Nevada are historically close.
“This is why Nevada’s governor’s race is ranked in the top five most competitive races,” Noble said. “So it’s not just our polling that shows it, but also historically and everybody else looking at that. It’s going to be a tight contest. It’s going to come down to some core folks in the middle, and which way are they persuaded, towards Ford or towards Lombardo?”
A survey of past gubernatorial races dating to 1998 shows races with margins ranging from about 4 percentage points all the way up to more than 46 percentage points.
The average — 11% — is skewed by two outlier elections. One came in 2002, when then-Gov. Kenny Guinn defeated then-state Joe Neal, D-Clark County, who ran without the support of organized labor or the Democratic Party, advocating a platform of raising the state’s gross gaming tax.
The other came in 2014, when Democrats essentially ceded the race to then-incumbent Republican Brian Sandoval by running a candidate, Bob Goodman, who lost to “none of these candidates” in the Democratic primary.
But of all the races, Lombardo’s victory over Democrat Steve Sisolak in 2022 was the narrowest; just 1.51 percentage points separated the two candidates, or just more than 15,000 actual votes.
In a survey in February, Hart Research also found the race close, with 46% for Lombardo and 43% for Ford.
The Noble survey found 40% of voters regarded Ford either very or somewhat favorably, with 33% reporting a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of him. Another 19% had no opinion, and 8% had never heard of the attorney general.
Lombardo, meanwhile, was seen as either very or somewhat favorably by 48% of voters, with 38% saying they had a somewhat or very unfavorable opinion of the governor. Another 11% had no opinion, but only 1% had never heard of him.
Ford’s numbers may give Lombardo an opportunity to define his likely general election opponent, Noble said. Already, we have seen PAC-backed ads slamming Ford for spending time extensively outside Nevada, on trips related to his job or on vacation.
“So he [Ford] needs to get out there and define himself where Lombardo is also trying to define him,” Noble said. “So, definitely Lombardo has some advantages there. But I think the biggest advantage that Ford has in this is that he’s currently not in power, not the one making decisions.”
Ford has criticized Lombardo for vetoing bills that Ford claims would have reduced costs for Nevadans, including a bill that would have banned corporations from buying up single-family homes, a concept that even President Donald Trump later adopted in an executive order.
And Democrats frequently criticize Lombardo by trying to tie him to Trump, whose tariffs have raised costs for local businesses and whose attack on Iran has raised costs for fuel and fertilizer.
Noble said economics will be the key to this race. “And I think really from the research we’ve seen, whoever can message the best when it comes to addressing the pocketbook issues, jobs, economy, inflation, how are they going to keep more money in Nevadans’ pockets and give them some type of relief, and especially in affordable housing and other pocketbook areas. I think that is who’s going to end up ultimately winning,” he said.
Asked for a response, Ford campaign spokeswoman Prerna Jagadeesh aimed squarely at economics.
“Voters know that under Joe Lombardo, Nevada is suffering from high costs, sky-high unemployment, and an economy lagging behind the rest of the nation in job growth — all while Lombardo puts cheerleading for Trump over serving working families,” she said in a statement. “In contrast, Attorney General Aaron Ford has fought to lower costs and create new good-paying union jobs throughout his time in public service. Ford will continue to be laser-focused on making Nevada a place that Nevadans can afford to call home—and that’s why he will win in November.”
Ford served in the Nevada state Senate — rising to Senate majority leader — before he was elected attorney general in 2018.
The Lombardo campaign declined to comment on the poll results.
But in a Morning Consult survey, Lombardo had a 51%-34% approval rating. (The rest had no opinion.)
Gov. Phil Scott of Vermont was the most popular governor in the nation, with a 74%-19% approve/disapprove rating, while Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa was the least popular, with 49% disapproving and 43% approving.
How smartphone apps turn your night sky into a space map
Astronomy apps help you spot constellations, planets and satellites in real time using your smartphone.
Skywatchers across the U.S. are about to be treated to a dazzling weekend filled with not only two active meteor showers, but a celestial alignment starring the moon.
For two nights, Earth’s only natural satellite will host a cosmic party with three planets — Mars, Saturn and Uranus.
The phenomenon, often called a planet parade, presents spectators with a rare opportunity to see not only multiple planets, but also the moon, appear close together in the night sky — at least, from Earth’s vantage.
The best part of the show? Most of the striking spectacle — with the exception of Uranus — will be visible to the naked eye.
Here’s everything to know about the rare sight, as well as when, how and where you can see it across the United States.
The moon will appear in the night sky before sunrise on Saturday, July 11 and Sunday, July 12, NASA said in a monthly skywatching guide.
While the term “planet parade” is not an official astronomy term, it is an unofficial way for astronomers and stargazers to refer to certain celestial events.
The planets in our solar system orbit the sun essentially along a line across the sky in a flat disc-shaped plane called the ecliptic.
Another term for a certain kind of planetary alignment, planet parades are what happens when planets line up along the ecliptic in a straight line and appear to us on Earth to be marching across the night sky, according to NASA. So, while planetary alignments themselves aren’t special, it is notable to have an opportunity to observe multiple planets at once.
During the celestial alignment, the moon will be entering a waning crescent phase before we have a new moon, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac. That means Earth’s only natural satellite is getting less and less full and bright each night as its crescent gets thinner and thinner, NASA explains.
That’s good news for stargazers, as the moon will still be visible without outshining the planets nearby.
Look toward the eastern sky to catch the cosmic lineup in the early morning.
While the moon will of course be the easiest to locate, Mars will look like a small reddish point of light, while Saturn is also bright and easy to spot, NASA explained in a video.
For the clearest views, there are several places that are an easy drive from Reno where you can get a clear view of the stars, including:
Cloudy conditions may bring relief from the recent heat wave, but they could spoil the early-morning view of the planetary parade in much of northwestern Nevada.
Mars and Saturn are among the five planets in our solar system visible without optical aid — along with Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. Telescopes certainly will enhance the view but spectators don’t need any equipment to spot those planets joining the moon in the pre-dawn sky.
As for Uranus, the planet is typically not as bright — despite being the third largest in our solar system — and will require a telescope to see, NASA said.
Eric Lagatta is the Space Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at elagatta@usatodayco.com. The Reno Gazette Journal’s Carly Sauvageau and Brett McGinness contributed to this report.
A Nevada man is believed to have suffered a deadly fall while climbing in Oregon.
He’s been identified as 77-year-old Robert Pickering.
Search and rescue crews say they found his body along Mount Washington, northwest of Bend, according to a social media post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
A climbing guide reported hearing a rockslide near the summit after Pickering passed his group.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was one of several groups that assisted in the search.
RENO, Nev. – A homicide suspect from Montana took their own life on Thursday night after police surrounded their car in northwest Reno, reports KTVN 2 News Nevada.
The incident happened in the area of Sharlands Avenue around 9 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Reno Police Department.
Officers located the suspect and surrounded their car, blocking them in. They then heard a single gunshot and backed away.
Reinforcements were called, and a drone was brought in by UNRPD. It was then confirmed the suspect was in their car, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the news agency reports.
The suspect has not been identified pending the notification of next of kin, and no additional information has been released at this time.
In addition to the Reno Police Department, the Regional Narcotics Unit and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
The investigation is ongoing.
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