Overview
Historically, Nevada voted primarily Republican in presidential elections from the late 1960s through the late ’80s, when an influx of newcomers to the state brought in more progressives and its conservative majority began to shift. Since then the population has more than tripled, with a 35% growth rate in the first decade of the 21st century.
By the 2016 presidential race, Hillary Clinton narrowly beat Donald Trump by a margin of 2% (48% to 46%), marking only the second time in a century that voters in the state selected a presidential candidate who did not ultimately win. Since then Nevada has become the only swing state to move to the Right, in part due to its slow economic recovery after the pandemic, according to The New York Times.
In 2020 President Biden won Nevada by 33,596 votes (2.5%), earning him the state’s six electoral votes. Democrats have held both Senate seats since 2018, and three of its four-member House delegation are Democrats. The governorship has been in Republican hands since 1998 (except for once in 2018, though the Democratic governor took the heat for pandemic slowdowns and lost reelection in 2022).
Election denier Joe Lombardo won the gubernatorial race in 2022 with Trump’s backing. But during the 2024 election year, he has taken a slightly more moderate stance in counterbalancing the many extremists in the Nevada GOP, several of whom are still in leadership positions after being indicted for their roles as fake electors in 2020.
Since the 2020 presidential election, conspiracy theorists and other pro-Trump activists have been harrassing county election officials, driving anyone who doesn’t support Trump’s false narrative of a stolen election from their positions. In 10 of Nevada’s 17 counties, top election officials have either resigned, retired, or refused to seek reelection since 2020—a drastic exodus, according to state government officials. “The goal: to profoundly change how U.S. elections are run,” as Reuters reported.
2020 Election Fallout
Even after President Biden was sworn in, election denialism gained traction in Nevada, where several virulent social media posts kept the misinformation and conspiracies alive, and local politicians helped amplify the lies.
Election Deniers Running for Congress
In Nevada, the most extreme election deniers running for Congress were eliminated in the 2024 primary, but two Republicans running for federal office—one for the Senate and one for the House—have spread lies or conspiracies about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election or raised doubts about the integrity of that and subsequent elections.
Election Deniers Running for Statewide Office
No candidate currently running for statewide office in Nevada has questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election. The governor (Republican Joe Lombardo), attorney general (Democrat Aaron Ford), and secretary of state (Democrat Franciso Aguilar) are collectively responsible for ensuring that elections in the state run smoothly, are fair, and accurately reflect the will of voters.
Election Deniers in the State Legislature
In Nevada only two election deniers—one representative and one senator—currently serve in the state legislature, accounting for 3% of the 68-person General Assembly. After being elected in 2022, the two legislators co-sponsored bills in 2023 that would have created special state law enforcement units to investigate suspected election crimes or irregularities. Though both bills failed, serious discussion of the issue in the General Assembly perpetuates the myth of rampant election fraud in Nevada. Each of these legislators also serves on his chamber’s Judiciary Committee, which gives them a say in selecting the state judges who may end up ruling on election cases.
Election Deniers Administering Elections
More than a dozen county election administrators in Nevada parrot Trump’s claims of a “rigged” election in 2020 and continue to spread disinformation about election integrity in 2024.
Election Deniers in GOP Leadership
As in other swing states, Republicans in Nevada engaged in intense intraparty bickering after Trump lost the 2020 election. But the “GOP’s civil war has been especially bitter and long-lasting” in this largely center-right state, as Politico reported.