Cortez Masto backs Ford in Democratic race for governor

A Democratic primary for governor barely emerged three days ago, and candidate filing for the office isn’t until March, but Democratic U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto wasted no time in making an endorsement.

The Nevada senator announced Thursday she’s backing Attorney General Aaron Ford in Nevada’s Democratic gubernatorial primary over Alexis Hill, the Washoe County Commissioner who just entered the race this week.

The winner will likely face Incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo in the 2026 Midterm Elections.  

Ford, a former Senate majority leader in the state Legislature who was first elected as attorney general in 2018, announced in December he had planned to run for governor. 

He was re-elected in 2022 by the largest margin of all statewide offices in a year where incumbent Democratic Gov. Steven Sisolak lost his re-election bid to Lombardo. Incumbent Democratic Lt. Gov. Lisa Cano Burkhead, who was appointed to the position a year earlier, also lost to a Republican challenger that year.

Hill, who has served on the Washoe County Commission since 2020, announced this week she would also seek the Democratic nomination. 

In a statement announcing her support, Cortez Masto said that Ford “has won tough races” and touted the work he has done as attorney general including going “after fraudulent landlords who are jacking up prices on working families and won more than $1 billion in settlements from taking on big drug companies.”