Las Vegas City Wire

Sheriff Joe Lombardo officially launched his candidacy June 28 as a Republican challenger to incumbent Democratic Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak.

Lombardo has overseen the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the state’s largest police force, since he won the countywide election in 2014. He was re-elected in 2018. 

He joined the LVMPD as an officer in 1988 and has remained on the force for 26 years.

Lombardo will soon kick off his campaign with a statewide tour, planning to stop in Reno, Carson City, Winnemucca, Elko and Ely.

"Single-party rule and a governor that only listens to the voices of special interests has led to higher taxes, new regulations and an erosion of our freedoms"  said Lombardo in an interview with Fox News. "That’s why I’m announcing my run for governor."

In the Fox interview, he also said he would veto any new taxes proposed by the Legislature while also discussing his priorities.  

"Nevada deserves a leader who doesn’t put the rights of criminals over victims, doesn’t hold the opinions of donors higher than those of middle-class families and doesn't believe our constitutional rights are ever up for partisan negotiation" he said. 

He added in a statement, "The Nevada quality of life people have sought for decades is in jeopardy."  

North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee and Reno attorney Joey Gilbert have also announced their candidacy for the GOP nomination. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Rep. Mark Amodei and former Sen. Dean Heller are also weighing gubernatorial bids.

In a Nevada Public Radio interview, Wake Forest University criminal justice analyst Ronald Wright acknowledged that violent crime rates in Nevada have surged to levels higher than any year since the late 1990s.