Nevada Republicans lose all six statewide seats

Nevada Democrats won all six statewide offices and all four Congressional districts in Tuesday's general election. The results marked a historic sweep for the party in a state that had previously leaned Republican. Voters cited President Donald Trump's influence as a primary reason for their choices.

Trump told Nevadans to "pretend I'm on the ballot" during the campaign. Many voters reported casting ballots specifically to rebuke the president and the leaders they believed enabled him. The Republican Party attempted to distance itself from Trump after the June primaries. Mentions of his endorsement faded from GOP materials. Trump visited the region only in Bullhead City, Arizona, skipping the state for his final rallies.

An analysis by The Nevada Independent found that Republican candidates less tied to the president performed better. This metric measured performance relative to Nevada's partisan lean and national trends. In the general election, Trump's endorsement acted as a liability. Jeremy Gelman, a political science professor at UNR, noted that the party structure left little room for incumbents to break away. "There was just no way for any of these incumbents to do that," Gelman said. "Which is why they all lost."

Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) was the top Republican performer in the state. He benefited from high name recognition and a large spending advantage. Lombardo tried to balance his image by embracing Trump at an August Las Vegas rally while focusing on local issues. He stated at his Election Night party, "We care about Nevada." However, he still lost by six points. His moderate approach helped him outperform most other GOP candidates in a difficult political environment.

Candidates who leaned heavily on Trump fared worse. Secretary of State candidate Jim Marchant (R) was the biggest underperformer on the slate. He tagged the president in nearly all social media posts, including one for Nevada Day. Marchant was heavily outspent. In the congressional races, the only candidate who outperformed expectations without Trump's endorsement was the one who avoided the label. The other three endorsed candidates, including Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson), struggled to shed the association.

Republican ads after the June primary avoided mentioning Trump. In contrast, Democratic candidates spent nearly $9 million on ads tying their opponents to the president. This equated to about one-third of their total ad spend. Controller Andy Matthews (R) overperformed expectations by 0.2 percent. He ran without an endorsement and focused on accounting details. Matthews raised roughly seven times more than his opponent, Matthew MacDougall (D). "My focus really was to just make sure that I kept the conversation in my race specific to the controller's office," Matthews said.

In the 2nd Congressional District, David Flippo (R) campaigned closely with Trump. His district, a deep red area Trump won by 13 points in 2024, seemed favorable for that strategy. Club for Growth spent $250,000 on ads supporting Flippo. The group stated that Trump needed "reinforcements in Congress." Flippo accused his opponent of wanting to repeal "the Trump tax cuts." His campaign later emphasized the endorsement of Lombardo over Trump's in the final weeks.