Joe Lombardo | |
|---|---|
 Lombardo in 2024 | |
| 31st Governor of Nevada | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2023 | |
| Lieutenant | Stavros Anthony |
| Preceded by | Steve Sisolak |
| 17thSheriff of Clark County | |
| In office January 5, 2015 – January 2, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Doug Gillespie |
| Succeeded by | Kevin McMahill |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Michael Lombardo (1962-11-08)November 8, 1962 (age 63) Sapporo, Japan |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Nevada, Las Vegas (BS,MS) |
| Website | Office website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1980–1986 |
| Unit | Nevada National Guard United States Army Reserve |
Lombardo on the police response to the2017 Las Vegas shooting. Recorded October 4, 2017 | |
Joseph Michael Lombardo (/ləmˈbɑːrdoʊ/ləm-BAR-doh;[1] born November 8, 1962) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer serving as the 31stgovernor of Nevada since 2023. A member of theRepublican Party, he was the 17thsheriff of Clark County from 2015 to 2023, capping a 34-year career in law enforcement.[2][3][4]
Born inJapan, Lombardo moved toLas Vegas in 1976 and was educated at theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas.[5] He served in theUnited States Army before becoming an officer in theLas Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 1988.[6] He was elected sheriff in 2014 and reelected in 2018.[7] As sheriff, he oversaw the investigation into the2017 Las Vegas shooting. He faced criticism for the investigation, including allegations of inconsistencies in the official timeline, accusations of negligence, and exerting an overly tight control of communication that some say hinderedtransparency.[8][9][10] He won the Republican nomination for governor of Nevada in2022 and defeated incumbentDemocratic governorSteve Sisolak in the general election; he took office on January 2, 2023.[11]
The son of aUnited States Air Force veteran, Lombardo was born inSapporo,Japan, on November 8, 1962.[12] He lived in Japan for over a decade before moving toLas Vegas in 1976.[13] Lombardo graduated fromRancho High School in 1980.[14]
Lombardo attended theUniversity of Nevada, Las Vegas, from which he received aBachelor of Science incivil engineering and aMaster of Science incrisis management.[12] He also completed the 227th session of theFBI National Academy in 2006.[6]
After graduating from high school in 1980, Lombardo joined theUnited States Army. During his time in the Army, he served in theNevada National Guard and in theUnited States Army Reserve. He ended his military service in 1986.[15]
Lombardo joined theLas Vegas Metropolitan Police Department as an officer in 1988. He rose through the ranks, becoming asergeant in 1996, alieutenant in 2001, and acaptain in 2006.[6] He was promoted to assistant sheriff in 2011.[12]
As assistant sheriff, Lombardo was in charge of the law enforcement services group, which included the department's divisions in charge of technical services, information technology, radio systems and professional standards.[13]
Lombardo also sat on the board of directors of the LVMPD Foundation from 2007 to 2014.[13] He retired from the police force after 26 years of service and stepped down from the foundation's board of directors in 2014 after being elected sheriff.
Lombardo made appearances on the TV showCops between 1991 and 2020.[16][17]
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On December 4, 2013, Lombardo announced his candidacy forsheriff of Clark County to succeed the retiringDoug Gillespie.[14] He won the primary election and narrowly defeated the Democratic nominee, retired LVMPD captain Larry Burns, in the November 4 general election.[18] Lombardo took office on January 5, 2015.[19] As sheriff he was head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the combined law enforcement agency of Las Vegas andClark County and Nevada's largest law enforcement agency, overseeing more than 5,000 officers.[20][21]
After becoming sheriff, Lombardo began the decentralization of LVMPD's detective operations, shifting detective operations from centralized crime-specific units to distribution of detectives throughout LVMPD area commands.[22]
In 2016, Lombardo connected the Las Vegas crime increase to a California law calledProposition 47, which is meant to reduceprison overcrowding.[23] Later that year, he responded to questions about a recent spike of violent crimes in Las Vegas, saying that the surge "keeps me up at night".[24][25] He later disagreed withFBI directorJames Comey's statement attributing a recent spike in violent crimes in Las Vegas to a so-calledFerguson effect.[26] In December 2016, Lombardo supported ahigh-capacity magazine ban, a call supported by theLas Vegas Sun editorial board.[27] By February 2017, Lombardo had concluded that the number of homicides in Las Vegas increased by an average of 20 each year.[28]
In September 2017, following the arrest ofSeattle Seahawks defensive endMichael Bennett in Las Vegas, Lombardo dismissed Bennett's allegations that two police officers who arrested him used excessive force and made vulgar threats, saying video evidence of the arrest did not corroborate the allegations.[29]
Following the2017 Las Vegas shooting atMandalay Bay andRoute 91 Harvest, in which 59 people died and 527 were injured—the deadliestmass shooting in the modern U.S. history—Lombardo oversaw the investigation into the shooting and into the perpetrator,Stephen Paddock.[30][31]
Lombardo won the 2018 primary election with 73% of the vote,[32][33] defeating four challengers.[33] He was sworn in to a second term on January 4, 2019, and during the ceremony touted an expansion of the LVMPD's staff levels during his tenure (an increase of more than 900 officers and 280 corrections officers).[32][34] Later that year, Lombardo's department issued a report recommending many changes to improve the police response to future critical incidents.[35]
In June 2020, amid theGeorge Floyd protests, the LVMPD arrested six people observing a protest along theLas Vegas Strip.[36] GovernorSteve Sisolak called for an investigation. Lombardo defended the department's actions by releasing body-cam videos of the six engaging in "antagonizing behavior" and obstructing officers.[37]
In lieu of running for a third term, Lombardo ran for governor of Nevada in 2022. He was replaced by LVMPD undersheriff Kevin McMahill.[38]
Lombardo announced his candidacy forgovernor of Nevada on June 28, 2021, to challenge incumbent governorSteve Sisolak in the2022 election.[15] Lombardo faced 11 other candidates, including the presumptive front-runner,Dean Heller, a former U.S. senator. Lombardo eventually surpassed Heller by double digits in the polls[39] and was widely considered the front-runner by February.[40][41][42] Former PresidentDonald Trump endorsed Lombardo in April 2022.[43] Lombardo won the Republican nomination on June 14, 2022, with 38.3% of the vote, defeating his main competitors, including Heller,Reno-based attorney and former boxerJoey Gilbert, andNorth Las Vegas MayorJohn Jay Lee.[44] On November 12, 2022, several days after election day, Lombardo was projected to win, having defeated Sisolak by 15,386 votes.[45]
Lombardo was sworn in on January 2, 2023, the same dayCisco Aguilar becameNevada Secretary of State andAndy Matthews becameNevada State Controller.[7][46] On his fourth day in office, Lombardo signed two executive orders to remove remaining COVID-19 mandates and address workforce vacancies and wages.[47][48] On January 12, Lombardo signed two more executive orders aimed at reducing regulatory burdens. The orders would suspend any new regulations from executive agencies, with exceptions for regulations that would affect public health, public safety, pending judicial deadlines and the essential duties of an executive branch.[49]
In hisState of the State address on January 23, Lombardo proposed a two-year $11 billion budget that would be the largest general fund budget in Nevada history and pledged $2 billion per biennium for K-12 education—an increase of more than 22% from the previous biennium. He also promised to restore funding to the state's higher education system and proposed adding $313 million into what he announced as the "Nevada Way Fund", a savings fund to be used for infrastructure and development projects.[50][51] On March 1, Lombardo signed legislation to transfer $70 million from the state's general fund to the education fund.[52]
In May, Lombardo proposed implementing avoter ID requirement to roll backvote-by-mail. State Democratic legislators have said the proposal would be "dead on arrival".[53]
In June, Lombardo introduced a bill to theNevada State Legislature to help fund a $1.5 billion 30,000-seat ballpark built on the site of theTropicana Las Vegas for theOakland Athletics'relocation to Las Vegas via partial public financing.[54] During a special session, the bill was amended and renamed SB1 on June 7. By June 15, he signed SB1 into law, which authorized the funding and construction of the ballpark after it passed in the Legislature by a majority vote.[55] In June 2023, Lombardo signed a bill to provide $380 million in public funding for the stadium.[56] Proponents of the public funding package argued that it would be good for Nevada's economy, while some economists argued that studies show these kinds of deals are bad investments for taxpayers.[57]
In September 2023, the work vacancy rate in Nevada stood at 24.3%, virtually unchanged since Lombardo was sworn in as governor.[58] In an attempt to lower the vacancy rate, Lombardo signed an executive order on September 18 that suspended certain minimum qualification requirements for state jobs for at least 90 days.[59]
In July 2025, a poll conducted for a Democratic-aligned group and reported byThe Nevada Independent found that 51% of Nevada voters approved of Lombardo's job performance while 38% disapproved, with lower ratings among Latino voters and on economic issues.[60]
Lombardo describes himself as amoderate Republican.[61]
In an April 2022 interview withThe Nevada Independent, Lombardo said he supports thedeath penalty as long as there isdue process.[62]
Lombardo has said he opposes the "defund the police" slogan.[62]
Lombardo supports an audit of the education system. In an April 2022 interview withThe Nevada Independent, he said he would investigate whether education funds are being allocated appropriately on "day one" of his governorship.[62]
During his 2022 campaign, Lombardo described his personal views as "pro-life", but made clear he opposes a nationalabortion ban and supports upholding the codification of abortion rights passed by Nevada voters in 1990.[63] On May 30, 2023, Lombardo signed into law a bill enshrining protections for out-of-state abortion seekers and in-state abortion providers.[64] Lombardo was endorsed byNational Right to Life, aPolitical Action Committee that opposes abortion rights, but, as of May 2023, he was one of three Republican governors, along withPhil Scott of Vermont andCharlie Baker of Massachusetts, to have signed legislation protecting access to abortion services.[65][66][67]
Lombardo supports universal background checks on people purchasing guns.[68] As Clark County sheriff, he supported ahigh-capacity magazine ban.[27]
Lombardo signed legislation that "prevents insurance companies from discriminating against trans people on the basis of gender identity, while the other measure signed in late May requires prisons to develop regulations to ensure safety of trans and nonbinary people who are incarcerated."[69] He signed two pieces of legislation to protecttransgender andnon-binary rights in Nevada, but vetoed a third bill that would have strengthened protections for medical providers offeringgender-affirming care to minors.[70][71]
In October 2024, Lombardo expressed his support on social media for the University of Nevada, Reno's women's volleyball team boycotting future games withSan Jose State. "As I've said previously, I believe there are competition and safety concerns with transgender women in sports, and it's irresponsible for theNCAA to put student athletes in a position of balancing their personal safety against the schools, competition, and sports that they love", Lombardo wrote.[72] Of the boycott, the team said, "We refuse to participate in any match that advances injustice against female athletes".[73]
In an April 2022 interview withThe Nevada Independent, Lombardo said he did not believe there was fraud in the2020 presidential election and saw no reason to believeJoe Biden was not "duly elected", although he suggested that "the election system has the ability to have fraud in it".[62]
Lombardo originally decried Nevada's public option, calling it "political theater", but more recently has accepted that it will be enacted. He has sought to alter the proposal by adding a market stabilization program to it.[74]
Lombardo was divorced and has one child from his previous marriage.[75] He marriedDonna Alderson, acommercial real estate broker, in 2015.[76][77]
Lombardo isCatholic.[78] In his spare time, he is an off-road racer in theSCORE International racing series.[79]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Nonpartisan | Joe Lombardo | 41,827 | 36.26 | |
| Nonpartisan | Larry Burns | 32,620 | 28.28 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ted Moody | 20,745 | 17.99 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert Gronauer | 7,302 | 6.33 | |
| General election | ||||
| Nonpartisan | Joe Lombardo | 154,047 | 51.16 | |
| Nonpartisan | Larry Burns | 147,063 | 48.44 | |
| Total votes | 301,110 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joe Lombardo | 139,132 | 72.81 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tim Bedwell | 29,939 | 15.67 | |
| Nonpartisan | Matt Caldwell | 10,241 | 5.36 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gordon Martines | 8,570 | 4.48 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gregory Heiny | 3,210 | 1.69 | |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Lombardo | 87,761 | 38.40% | |
| Republican | Joey Gilbert | 61,738 | 27.01% | |
| Republican | Dean Heller | 32,087 | 14.04% | |
| Republican | John Jay Lee | 17,846 | 7.81% | |
| Republican | Guy Nohra | 8,348 | 3.65% | |
| Republican | Fred J. Simon | 6,856 | 3.00% | |
| Republican | Thomas Heck | 4,315 | 1.89% | |
| None of These Candidates | 4,219 | 1.85% | ||
| Republican | Eddie Hamilton | 1,293 | 0.57% | |
| Republican | Amber Whitley | 1,238 | 0.54% | |
| Republican | William Walls | 833 | 0.36% | |
| Republican | Gary Evertsen | 558 | 0.24% | |
| Republican | Seven Achilles Evans | 475 | 0.21% | |
| Republican | Edward O'Brien | 422 | 0.18% | |
| Republican | Barak Zilberberg | 352 | 0.15% | |
| Republican | Stanleigh Lusak | 229 | 0.10% | |
| Total votes | 228,570 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Joe Lombardo | 497,377 | 48.81% | +3.50% | |
| Democratic | Steve Sisolak (incumbent) | 481,991 | 47.30% | −2.09% | |
| Libertarian | Brandon Davis | 14,919 | 1.46% | +0.57% | |
| None of These Candidates | 14,866 | 1.46% | -0.48% | ||
| Independent American | Ed Bridges | 9,918 | 0.97% | −0.07% | |
| Total votes | 1,019,071 | 100.0% | |||
| Turnout | 1,023,617 | 54.58% | |||
| Registered electors | 1,875,578 | ||||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | |||||
| Civic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Sheriff of Clark County 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Nevada 2022 | Most recent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Nevada 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Vice President | Order of precedence of the United States Within Nevada | Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by OtherwiseMike Johnson asSpeaker of the House | ||
| Preceded byasGovernor of West Virginia | Order of precedence of the United States Outside Nevada | Succeeded byasGovernor of Nebraska |
