LOMBARDO SUPPORTERS “BELIEVE” SHERIFF WILL BE THE NEXT NEVADA GOVERNOR
By: Valerie Miller
J
oe Lombardo seems quite at ease on a Sunday afternoon in May, as he does a remote radio interview. Seated at a booth inside a local Henderson casino restaurant, the Clark County sheriff answers a variety of questions about his candidacy for Nevada governor. Lombardo, who was the odds-on favorite to be the Republican nominee for governor going into the June primary, was in an enviable position of having a largesse of campaign funds, and a sizeable lead against the other Republican contenders. Things only got better for the two-term sheriff when he won the Republican party’s mostcoveted endorsement: the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. It was an endorsement that was undoubtedly desired by all of his major Republican opponents. Trump’s formal support of Lombardo meant that it was far less likely that one of his opponents
could make a last-minute charge at his lead. While many of Lombardo’s challengers were aligning themselves with Trump-style conservatism, it was the sheriff who got the 45th president’s formal blessing. Soon, television ads for Lombardo would tout the Trump endorsement. The still-popular former president has a mind-boggling track record of picking winners in the primaries over the last year. “This Primary is Over” While the Republican primary was not until June 14th, the frontrunner for governor was already eyeing the general election in November. During a televised May 25th Republican primary debate, Lombardo voiced his confidence that the race to be the GOP’s nominee was wrapped up.
VEGASLEGALMAGAZINE.COM | 35
