Nevada never had a Black governor. Aaron Ford, a math teacher who grew up poor, just beat the one it had

Nevada has been a state for more than 160 years and has never had a Black governor. On Tuesday night it elected one, and he took the job from a sitting Republican. Attorney General Aaron Ford defeated Gov. Joe Lombardo, according to an Associated Press race call, and will be the first Black person to lead the state.

Ford was already the first Black person Nevadans had elected to any statewide office, when he became attorney general in 2019. He is a former state senator and math teacher who grew up in poverty, and he put that story at the center of his campaign. In the count reported Wednesday, Ford led Lombardo by roughly 52% to 44%.

“This campaign didn’t happen by accident,” Ford said in his victory remarks. “It happened because of faith, because of family, because of hard work, and because the people of Nevada decided that our best days are still ahead of us.”

A campaign about the cost of living

Ford did not run on the history. He ran on rent, school lunches and who profits from both. He promised free school meals, student loan relief and a pause on new tax abatements for AI data centers, and he opposed building them on federal land. He attacked Lombardo for vetoing limits on corporations buying up homes.

Democrats also tied Lombardo to President Donald Trump’s tariffs and what they have done to tourism, the industry that employs a large share of Las Vegas workers. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris both campaigned for Ford. Nearly 40% of Nevada’s voters are nonpartisan, and the state is expected to be a battleground again in the next presidential race.

Ford is not the only first from the night. Wisconsin elected David Crowley, who will be its first Black governor, NPR reported, and Georgia and Florida elected Black governors as well.

Ford won by talking about the price of rent and groceries, and he did it as a Black man whose own family was poor. The win is both: a barrier broken and a platform that spoke to working people of every background.

Now comes the part that matters to the Black families who voted for him. A governor who promised free school meals and a data center pause will face a legislature, a tourism economy under tariff pressure and an industry that does not want to be paused. He takes office in January.