2026 Nevada Gubernatorial Candidates Discuss the Issues

In 2025, Nevada consumers reported losing $189 million to fraud. What would you do to combat fraud in the state and help Nevadans protect their savings?

FORD: My office has held trainings and educational seminars across the state, because education is Nevadans’ first line of defense.

My Bureau of Consumer Protection works every day to track the latest scams and get that information out fast.... Nevada law already lets us charge elder financial exploitation as a distinct crime and adds a sentencing enhancement when the victim is 60 or older—enhancements my office has used to put people who prey on seniors behind bars for years, not months.

LOMBARDO: Whether it’s Medicaid fraud, financial scams or organized criminal activity, my administration has made it clear that those who steal from Nevada taxpayers and prey on vulnerable senior citizens will be held accountable. That’s why I welcomed the federal government’s effort to strengthen oversight and crack down on Medicaid provider fraud....

I’ll continue supporting partnerships between state and local law enforcement, financial institutions and community organizations to identify scams more quickly. Education is just as important as enforcement.... We’ll continue expanding public awareness efforts.

 

Some 560,000 Nevada residents provide care to an adult family member, friend or neighbor. How would you ensure family caregivers have the social and financial support they need?

LOMBARDO: Our responsibility is to make sure they aren’t carrying that burden alone. My administration has focused on strengthening Nevada’s health care system by expanding access to care, increasing telehealth and improving coordination through the Nevada Health Authority. Those efforts benefit caregivers by making it easier to navigate services and access support.

FORD: Family caregivers are propping up our long-term care system, and it’s long past time we treated that work with the respect and financial support it deserves.... As governor, I’ll fight ... for better wages and a higher Medicaid reimbursement rate, because paying caregivers fairly ... is how we grow the workforce. ​

 

Nevada is facing a shortage of primary care, mental health and other providers. What would you do to bolster the state’s healthcare workforce?

FORD: The real problem isn’t just loan repayment. It’s that Nevada only has about 400 medical residency slots, frozen by the federal government since 1997. Our own medical students graduate and can’t finish training here, so they leave and don’t come back. As governor, I’ll push to expand residency slots with our hospitals and medical schools, and fight for Nevada’s fair share of federal funding. We also should ensure that incentives like loan forgiveness for providers in underserved areas are fully funded and as competitive as what states like New Mexico are doing.

LOMBARDO: Building Nevada’s health care workforce has been one of my administration’s priorities because we know access to care depends on having enough people to do the job. We’ve made meaningful progress by creating the Nevada Health Authority, streamlining professional licensing so providers can begin practicing more quickly, expanding graduate medical education opportunities, and securing federal funding to strengthen health care access in rural communities.

As a result, Nevada has added more than 13,000 health care jobs during my administration. There’s more work to do, and we’ll continue partnering with our universities, community colleges, hospitals and private providers to train and retain more doctors, nurses, behavioral health professionals and specialists so Nevadans can receive high-quality care without leaving the state.

 

Nevada is experiencing an affordable housing crisis. How would you ensure older Nevadans, particularly those on fixed or limited incomes, have affordable housing options?

LOMBARDO: Housing affordability remains one of the biggest challenges facing Nevada families, including seniors living on fixed incomes. That’s why I introduced and signed my Nevada Housing Access and Attainability Act, one of the most comprehensive housing packages in state history. It expands housing supply, invests in attainable housing, and removes barriers that have slowed development for too long.

FORD: We need to build more housing seniors can actually afford, which means directing more of our Low-Income Housing Tax Credit allocations toward age-restricted and senior-accessible units, not just family housing. Nevada also let its property tax rebate for seniors lapse years ago. I’ll work with the Legislature to bring back real property tax relief for older homeowners on fixed incomes, so people aren’t taxed out of a home they’ve paid off.

 

Nevada is a heavily car-dependent state. For older residents who no longer drive, it can mean losing access to doctors, groceries and community. How would you improve transit options for people who can’t drive?

FORD: I’ll back up public transit expansion with real investment in the paratransit and volunteer transportation networks seniors rely on, especially in rural counties, where nonprofits like Nevada Rural RSVP’s volunteer drivers are often the only ride to a doctor’s appointment or the pharmacy for miles.

LOMBARDO: Nevada is geographically unique, so there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. In urban areas, we should continue working with local transit providers to improve reliability and access to essential destinations like medical facilities, grocery stores and community centers. In rural Nevada, expanding access to telehealth can help reduce unnecessary travel while ensuring residents still receive quality care.

 

If elected, what else would you do to improve the lives of older Nevadans and their families?

LOMBARDO: Everything my administration has worked toward comes back to improving quality of life for Nevada families, including our seniors. We’ve strengthened public safety, expanded healthcare access, invested in housing, reduced unnecessary regulations and continued growing Nevada’s economy. Those accomplishments matter because they create stronger communities where older Nevadans can thrive.

If reelected, I’ll continue focusing on making life more affordable, improving access to health care, expanding housing opportunities, protecting public safety and cracking down on criminal fraudsters going after our vulnerable populations.

FORD: Every Nevadan should be able to thrive, not just get by—from early childhood through our later years. As a state senator, I worked alongside AARP and Legal Aid to help reform Nevada’s guardianship laws after we saw seniors stripped of their rights and assets by predatory guardians, and to strengthen criminal penalties for elder abuse and exploitation.

As governor, I’ll build on that foundation: fighting to protect Medicare and Medicaid from federal cuts the same way I’ve fought back against harmful federal actions as [Nevada] Attorney General, keeping our guardianship courts accountable to reforms, and making sure state agencies are actually reaching older Nevadans.

Candidate information at fordfornevada.com and joelombardofornv.com.

As a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, AARP does not endorse candidates or make political donations.

 

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