Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo Challenges Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2022 Election

Posted on: June 15, 2022, 09:51h. 

Last updated on: June 16, 2022, 03:44h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Joe Lombardo will take on Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) in the 2022 gubernatorial election set for Nov. 8.

Las Vegas Joe Lombardo Nevada Steve Sisolak governor
Then-Clark County Commission Chairman Steve Sisolak and Sheriff Joe Lombardo on October 4, 2017, three days after a madman killed 58 people on the Las Vegas Strip. Sisolak and Lombardo are set to run against one another in the state’s 2022 gubernatorial election. (Image: Getty)

Lombardo, the top law enforcement official in Southern Nevada, head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD), and sheriff of Clark County, bested four Republican primary challenges headlined by Nevada’s former US Senator Dean Heller and defense attorney Joey Gilbert.

Lombardo was declared the victor early this morning after receiving about 39% of the vote. Sisolak easily won the Democratic primary with almost 90% of the vote.

Sisolak and Lombardo each have nearly 100% name recognition in Nevada. Lombardo was the face of law enforcement’s response to the October 1, 2017, mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 victims dead.

Sisolak, like so many other Democrats across the nation, is facing a difficult reelection on soaring inflation, high gas prices, and a tumbling economy. The governor has also faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic. Lombardo believes Sisolak was far too restrictive on businesses throughout the COVID-19 crisis.

Lombardo Betting Favorite

Facing a slew of political and economic difficulties, most Nevadans answered a recent poll expressed support for a change in Carson City. Three polls conducted since April on a Sisolak-Lombardo head-to-head give the sheriff a nearly 15-point advantage over the incumbent.

Political bettors on PredictIt also foreshadow a Sisolak eviction from the Nevada Governor’s Mansion. Bettors wagering on the Nevada gubernatorial have more heavily backed Lombardo, pushing his shares of winning on November 8 to 60 cents. Sisolak’s stock is at just 40 cents.

As is the case in the Nevada Senate race between former state attorney general Adam Laxalt (R) and incumbent Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D), the betting momentum is behind the GOP candidate in the gubernatorial race. In March, the PredictIt market had Sisolak and Lombardo essentially tied.

The governor and his challenger believe they are Nevada’s best option to lead the tourism-dependent state out of the pandemic over the next four years.

“It’s a win for parents and their children’s education. It’s a win for safer communities. And it’s a win for small business owners,” Lombardo declared last night at his election-night party in Las Vegas.

Sisolak told his supporters that Lombardo would be a U-turn on the state’s progress since he took office in early 2019.

“Everything is at stake this year,” the governor proclaimed. “I’m running against a candidate who wants to tear away our progress. Nevadans deserve someone who will put in the work to lift up every family, not someone who has spent the last 12 months taking both sides and lying to voters about where he stands on the issues.”

Vegas’ Darkest Days

October 1, 2017, marked the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. A motive for the lone gunman’s actions was never determined.

Lombardo was dining with friends on the Strip at a Palazzo steakhouse when the first shots rang out from a 32nd-floor suite at Mandalay Bay. The sheriff and hundreds of other first responders raced to the scene.

Sisolak and Lombardo were at the forefront of Las Vegas’ response.

In the days following the horrific mass killing, Lombardo and Sisolak, the latter then being a Clark County commissioner, shared the podium before the media to provide updates on the investigation. Now, the once-united local leaders will battle it out for the honor of leading the state’s governance for the next four years.