Gov. Joe Lombardo said he wants to “finish what we started” in his job as governor on Monday, officially launching his re-election campaign in what is expected to be a competitive race in the 2026 midterms.

Let’s decide Nevada’s future together,” he said at his alma mater Rancho High School, where he launched his gubernatorial bid in 2021 and where he delivered his victory speech three years ago. Several hundred people gathered, holding signs that read “sheriff, governor, leader” and cheering “four more years.” Members of the Laborers Union Local 872 stood behind him.

All eyes are expected to be on Nevada’s race for governor in 2026. The Cook Political Report last week rated Nevada’s race as a toss-up, and Lombardo is seen as one of the most vulnerable Republican governors fighting for re-election in 2026.

Still, Lombardo remains a popular governor with a 53 percent approval rating, according to a July 2025 Morning Consult poll. That’s higher than President Donald Trump’s approval rating in Nevada, which was at 47 percent as of September.

The former Clark County sheriff made waves in 2022 as the only Republican challenger to successfully usurp a sitting Democratic governor across the country in the 2022 election.

Lombardo’s policy priorities

At his 2026 campaign launch, Lombardo highlighted some of his accomplishments, such as his approval of the $200 million “Campus for Hope” that offers temporary housing and social services for those experiencing homelessness and his work with Trump to release federal land for attainable housing.

Since he was elected, Lombardo said he has served as the last of line of defense for putting a stop to bills coming out of the Democratic-majority Legislature. He made history as the Nevada governor with the most vetoes and highlighted that record Monday; the record was previously held by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who vetoed 97 bills during his two terms.

Ahead of his first term, Lombardo promised to be the next “education governor.” He planned to expand school choice and make school safety a priority, fix broken state agencies and eliminate soft-on-crime laws.

Lombardo has seen some success in pushing those priorities forward. In his first legislative session of 2023, he signed a key school safety bill into law, alongside a bill sponsored by then-Democratic Assemblywoman Angie Taylor, D-Reno, that focused on school discipline. He also worked with Democratic lawmakers to pass a record $2 billion in education funding and teacher pay raises, and he re-instituted the “read by grade three” program, he said.

In the most recent Legislature, most of his landmark legislation died and didn’t make it through the Legislature, including his crime bill that focused on DUI penalties, “smash and grabs” and school safety.

“It is ridiculous that Nevada has weaker smash and grab laws than California,” Lombardo said, calling on legislators to pass a comprehensive crime bill that implements stronger penalties.

He saw success with his housing bill, which created a $130 million attainable housing fund, and he worked with Democratic Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro to put forward a major education bill improving accountability and transparency.

The governor has failed, however, to successfully push for election reform, one of his priorities he brought up during his 2025 State of the State Address.

Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, extended an olive branch to implement voter ID — one of Lombardo’s priorities — as part of a compromise to also expand ballot drop boxes, but Lombardo rejected it, expressing concerns about increased access to ballot drop boxes. Lombardo brought up the ballot question that passed in 2024 and needs to pass again in 2026.

Walking the political tightrope

The governor has walked a fine line on the political tightrope in the purple state of Nevada, where he won his 2022 victory by just 1.5 percentage points.

In 2023 he signed into law a bill protecting out-of-state abortion seekers by barring state agencies from cooperating with authorities seeking to prosecute women who get an abortion in Nevada. But in 2025 he rejected a similar bill protecting out-of-state patients seeking gender-affirming care in the Silver State.

He said he was “fully committed” to Trump’s deportation plans and authorized Nevada’s National Guard to assist with Trump’s mass deportation efforts through clerical and administrative work, while also promising not to deploy the guard outside of Nevada for the cause.

Lombardo was also restrained in his public support for Trump; he spoke at only one campaign rally for the president in 2024. Even then, he used the rally as an opportunity to fight against a Democratic supermajority in the Legislature, encouraging Republican voters to vote down the ballot for the GOP in legislative races.

The governor has recently come under fire for his response to the ongoing cyberattack that for weeks halted many Nevada services. He was absent from a press conference providing updates on the attack and instead attended events in Northern Nevada, drawing scrutiny from some Nevadans. He defended his absence, saying it was important he talk with constituents in rural Nevada.

The 2026 election and Lombardo’s goals

So far, at least two Democrats have announced their plans to run against him: Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford and Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill.

Ford, who launched his campaign for governor in July, said in a statement Lombardo failed to lower costs and make life more affordable for Nevada families. He pointed to housing costs, the high unemployment rate and little job growth, and he accused Lombardo of selling out to Trump.

“As governor, I will put Nevadans first: expanding economic opportunity and creating good-paying jobs, lowering costs, guaranteeing school meals, and taking on predatory corporations pricing Nevadans out of their homes,” he said in a Monday statement. “That’s the future Nevadans deserve, and that’s how we move our state forward – together.”

The governor on Monday highlighted what he wants to do in his next term, such as investing in workforce training and finding solutions to bring back workforce. He also wants to change the makeup of the Legislature, he said.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.