2018 Nevada gubernatorial election explained

Election Name:	2018 Nevada gubernatorial election
Country:	Nevada
Type:	presidential
Ongoing:	no
Previous Election:	2014 Nevada gubernatorial election
Previous Year:	2014
Next Election:	2022 Nevada gubernatorial election
Next Year:	2022
Election Date:	November 6, 2018
Image1:	File:Steve Sisolak (cropped).jpeg
Nominee1:	Steve Sisolak
Party1:	Democratic Party (United States)
Popular Vote1:	480,007
Percentage1:	49.39%
Nominee2:	Adam Laxalt
Party2:	Republican Party (United States)
Popular Vote2:	440,320
Percentage2:	45.31%
Governor
Before Election:	Brian Sandoval
Before Party:	Republican Party (United States)
After Election:	Steve Sisolak
After Party:	Democratic Party (United States)

The 2018 Nevada gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Nevada. Incumbent Republican Governor Brian Sandoval was ineligible to run for re-election, due to the absolute two-term limit established by the Nevada Constitution. Nevada is one of eight U.S. states (or nine U.S. states and territory) that prohibits its governors or any other state and territorial executive branch officials from serving more than two terms, even if they are nonconsecutive.

The candidate filing deadline was March 16, 2018 and the primary election was held on June 12, 2018.^[1] The Republican nominee was Adam Laxalt and the Democratic nominee was Steve Sisolak. Sisolak won the election, becoming the first Democrat to be elected governor of Nevada since Bob Miller won his second full term in 1994, and the first non-incumbent Democrat to win since 1982. This was one of eight Republican-held governorships up for election in a state won by Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. As of, this is the only time a Democrat was elected governor of Nevada in the 21st century.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Adam Laxalt, Nevada Attorney General^[2]

Eliminated in primary

• William W. Boyd, small business owner^[3]
• Stephanie Carlisle, businesswoman^[4]
• Jared Fisher, small business owner^[5]
• Dan Schwartz, Nevada State Treasurer and candidate for NV-04 in 2012 (endorsed Laxalt)^[6]

Declined

• Mark Amodei, U.S. Representative (ran for re-election and won)^{[7] [8]}
• Joe Heck, former U.S. Representative and nominee for U.S. Senate in 2016^{[9] [10]}
• Dean Heller, U.S. Senator (endorsed Laxalt and ran for re-election and lost)^{[11] [12] [13]}
• Steve Hill, former executive director of the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development^{[14] [15]}
• Mark Hutchison, lieutenant governor (endorsed Laxalt)^{[16] [14] [17]}
• Ron Knecht, Nevada State Controller (ran for re-election and lost)^{[14] [18]}
• Brian Krolicki, former lieutenant governor^{[19] [20]}

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Laxalt	Dan Schwartz	Jared Fisher	Undecided
The Mellman Group	April 12–19, 2018	400	± 4.9%	align=center	55%	4%	2%	38%
WPA Intelligence (R)	August 6–8, 2017	302	± 5.7%	align=center	64%	5%	–	31%
Doug Schoen (D)	July 7–20, 2017	600	± 4.0%	align=center	34%	30%	–	align=center	35%

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

• Steve Sisolak, chair of the Clark County Commission^[21]

Eliminated in primary

• Kyle Chamberlain, activist and photographer^[22]
• Chris Giunchigliani, vice-chair of the Clark County Commission and candidate for Mayor of Las Vegas in 2011^[23]

Declined

• Aaron Ford, Majority Leader of the Nevada Senate (ran for Attorney General and won)^{[24] [25] [26]}
• Vince Juaristi, consultant and former gubernatorial aide^{[27] [28]}
• Tick Segerblom, state senator (ran for Clark County Commission and won)^{[25] [29]}
• Dina Titus, U.S. Representative for Nevada's 1st congressional district and nominee for governor in 2006 (endorsed Sisolak and ran for re-election and won)^{[25] [30]}

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Chris Giunchigliani	Steve Sisolak	None of these	Other	Undecided
Benenson Strategy Group (D-Women Vote!)	May 21–23, 2018	608	± 4.0%	35%	align=center	38%	11%	2%	13%
The Mellman Group	April 12–19, 2018	400	± 4.9%	16%	align=center	44%	–	–	40%
Expedition Strategies (D-Giunchigliani)	March 17–19, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	31%	27%	18%	–	23%

Results

Independents

Declared

• Ryan Bundy, rancher^[31]

Endorsements

General election

Predictions

Source	Ranking	As of
The Cook Political Report^[32]		October 26, 2018
The Washington Post^[33]		November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight^[34]		November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report^[35]		November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball^[36]		November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics^[37]		November 4, 2018
Daily Kos^[38]		November 5, 2018
Fox News^[39]		November 5, 2018
Politico^[40]		November 5, 2018
Governing^[41]		November 5, 2018

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Laxalt (R)	Steve Sisolak (D)	Jared Lord (L)	Ryan Bundy (I)	None of these	Other	Undecided
HarrisX	November 3–5, 2018	600	± 4.0%	44%	align=center	45%	–	–	–	–	–
HarrisX	November 2–4, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	45%	44%	–	–	–	–	–
Emerson College	November 1–4, 2018	1,197	± 3.0%	47%	align=center	48%	–	–	–	4%	2%
HarrisX	November 1–3, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	45%	44%	–	–	–	–	–
HarrisX	October 31 – November 2, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	47%	43%	–	–	–	–	–
HarrisX	October 30 – November 1, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	46%	43%	–	–	–	–	–
The Trafalgar Group (R)	October 29 – November 1, 2018	2,587	± 1.9%	align=center	47%	45%	–	–	–	4%	4%
HarrisX	October 29–31, 2018	600	± 4.0%	45%	45%	–	–	–	–	–
HarrisX	October 24–30, 2018	1,400	± 2.6%	43%	align=center	45%	–	–	–	–	–
CNN/SSRS	October 24–29, 2018	622 LV	± 4.8%	45%	align=center	46%	2%	–	5%	0%	2%
	807 RV	± 4.2%	40%	align=center	44%	3%	–	9%	0%	3%
Gravis Marketing	October 24–26, 2018	773	± 3.5%	44%	align=center	46%	–	–	–	–	10%
Ipsos	October 12–19, 2018	1,137	± 3.0%	align=center	46%	41%	–	–	–	4%	9%
Vox Populi Polling	October 13–15, 2018	614	± 3.7%	48%	align=center	52%	–	–	–	–	–
Emerson College	October 10–12, 2018	625	± 4.2%	align=center	46%	41%	–	–	–	3%	11%
NYT Upshot/Siena College	October 8–10, 2018	642	± 4.0%	align=center	46%	45%	–<	-- included, numbers not visible -->	–	–	–	8%
Marist College	September 30 – October 3, 2018	574 LV	± 5.5%	align=center	44%	40%	8%	–	2%	<1%	6%
	align=center	46%	45%	–	–	3%	<1%	6%
	780 RV	± 4.5%	align=center	41%	40%	8%	–	2%	<1%	8%
	44%	align=center	45%	–	–	4%	<1%	7%
Kaiser Family Foundation/SSRS	September 19 – October 2, 2018	513	± 5.0%	align=center	46%	40%	–	–	–	2%	12%
CNN/SSRS	September 25–29, 2018	693 LV	± 4.6%	41%	align=center	45%	5%	–	7%	0%	1%
	851 RV	± 4.1%	38%	align=center	41%	5%	–	12%	1%	2%
Ipsos	September 7–17, 2018	1,039	± 4.0%	align=center	43%	40%	–	–	–	5%	12%
Gravis Marketing	September 11–12, 2018	700	± 3.7%	38%	align=center	50%	–	–	–	–	8%
Suffolk University	September 5–10, 2018	500	± 4.4%	35%	align=center	37%	5%	4%	2%	1%^[42]	15%
Suffolk University	July 24–29, 2018	500	± 4.4%	align=center	42%	41%	2%	1%	4%	2%^[43]	7%
McLaughlin & Associates (R-Laxalt)	July 21–24, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	45%	40%	3%	–	–	4%^[44]	8%
Gravis Marketing	June 23–26, 2018	630	± 3.9%	align=center	43%	41%	–	–	–	–	17%
The Mellman Group	April 12–19, 2018	600	± 4.0%	37%	align=center	43%	–	–	–	–	20%
TargetSmart (D-Giunchigliani)	January 3–7, 2018	1,103	± 4.4%	align=center	37%	34%	–	–	–	–	29%
Remington (R-Laxalt)	May 23–24, 2017	1,021	± 3.1%	align=center	46%	37%	–	–	–	–	17%

with Chris Giunchigliani

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Adam Laxalt (R)	Chris Giunchigliani (D)	Undecided
The Mellman Group	April 12–19, 2018	600	± 4.0%	align=center	40%	38%	22%
TargetSmart (D-Giunchigliani)	January 3–7, 2018	1,103	± 4.4%	align=center	39%	34%	27%

Results

While Sisolak only won two of the state's counties, those two counties account for more than 80% of the total state population. His overwhelming victory in Clark County, home of Las Vegas, and his narrow victory in Washoe County were enough to pull him over the finish line. Sisolak became the first Democrat to be elected Governor of Nevada since Bob Miller’s successful re-election bid in 1994.

County results

County	Steve Sisolak Democratic		Adam Laxalt Republican		None of These Candidates		Ryan Bundy Independent		Russell Best Independent American		Jared Lord Libertarian		Margin		Total votes cast^[45]
		%		%		%		%		%		%		%
	Carson City		9,249		40.78%		12,080		53.26%		469		2.07%		367		1.62%	324	1.43%		1.92		0.85%		-2,831		-12.48%		22,681
	Churchill		1,869		19.45%		7,033		73.21%		194		2.02%		278		2.89%	129	1.34%		104		1.08%		-5,164		-53.75%		9,607
	Clark		352,814		54.12%		266,216		40.84%		12,712		1.95%		8,092		1.24%	6,462	0.99%		5,605		0.86%		86,598		13.28%		651,901
	Douglas		7,962		30.57%		16,897		64.88%		408		1.57%		345		1.32%	211	0.81%		222		0.85%		-8,935		-34.31%		26,045
	Elko		2,604		17.17%		11,444		75.44%		213		1.40%		610		4.02%	140	0.92%		159		1.05%		-8,840		-58.27%		15,170
	Esmeralda		51		13.75%		273		73.58%		8		2.16%		29		7.82%	7	1.89%		3		0.81%		-222		-59.84%		371
	Eureka		61		8.06%		609		80.45%		20		2.64%		47		6.21%	16	2.11%		4		0.53%		-548		-72.39%		757
	Humboldt		1,067		19.25%		4,061		73.26%		118		2.13%		183		3.30%	74	1.34%		40		0.72%		-2,994		-54.01%		5,543
	Lander		316		15.11%		1,571		75.13%		57		2.73%		100		4.78%	26	1.24%		21		1.00%		-1,255		-60.02%		2,091
	Lincoln		266		13.63%		1,440		73.77%		37		1.90%		179		9.17%	16	0.82%		14		0.72%		-1,174		-60.14%		1,952
	Lyon		5,267		25.19%		14,211		67.95%		401		1.92%		551		2.63%	276	1.32%		207		0.99%		-8,944		-42.77%		20,913
	Mineral		540		29.85%		1,067		58.98%		78		4.31%		64		3.54%	34	1.88%		26		1.44%		-527		-29.13%		1,809
	Nye		4,607		26.33%		11,103		63.47%		329		1.88%		991		5.66%	299	1.71%		165		0.94%		-6,496		-37.13%		17,494
	Pershing		360		20.41%		1,255		71.15%		38		2.15%		80		4.54%	19	1.08%		12		0.68%		-895		-50.74%		1,764
	Storey		721		30.56%		1,476		62.57%		40		1.70%		61		2.59%	34	1.44%		27		1.14%		-755		-32.01%		2,359
	Washoe		91,684		48.74%		87,226		46.37%		3,669		1.95%		1,742		0.93%	1,961	1.04%		1,816		0.97%		4,458		2.37%		188,098
	White Pine		569		17.54%		2,358		72.69%		74		2.28%		172		5.30%	48	1.48%		23		0.71%		-1,789		-55.15%		3,244
Totals	480,007	49.39%	440,320	45.31%	18,865	1.94%	13,891	1.43%	10,076	1.04%	8,640	0.89%	39,687	4.08%	971,799

While Laxalt won 15 of Nevada's county-level jurisdictions (14 counties and the independent city of Carson City), Sisolak carried the two largest, Clark (home to Las Vegas) and Washoe (home to Reno). Sisolak ultimately prevailed by winning his home county, Clark, by over 86,000 votes, double his statewide margin of 39,700 votes.

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

• Clark (largest municipality: Las Vegas)
• Washoe (largest municipality: Reno)

Results by congressional districts

Sisolak won 3 of 4 congressional districts.^[46]

District	Sisolak	Laxalt	Representative
		62.23%	31.79%		Dina Titus
		41.38%	53.22%		Mark Amodei
		49.85%	45.8%
		50.33%	43.78%		Steven Horsford

See also

• 2018 Nevada elections

External links

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Russell Best (IA) for Governor
• Ryan Bundy (I) for Governor
• Adam Laxalt (R) for Governor
• Jared Lord (L) for Governor
• Steve Sisolak (D) for Governor

Notes and References

1. News: United States Senate election in Nevada, 2018 - Ballotpedia. March 3, 2017. en-US.
2. Web site: Attorney General Adam Laxalt, a rising Republican favorite, officially enters 2018 gubernatorial race. The Nevada Independent. Rindels. Michelle. November 1, 2017. November 2, 2017.
3. News: Nevada Election Field Getting Crowded Two Days Into Filing. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Giwaris. Ramona. March 6, 2018. March 6, 2018.
4. Web site: Coming Soon . June 2, 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181218212432/https://carlisle4nevada.com/ . December 18, 2018 . dead .
5. News: Las Vegas bike shop owner to run for Nevada governor. Las Vegas Review-Journal. Lochhead. Colton. April 27, 2017. April 29, 2017.
6. News: Republican Dan Schwartz, Nevada's maverick treasurer, jumps into governor's race. The Nevada Independent. Rindels. Michelle. September 5, 2017. September 5, 2017.
7. News: Hagar. Ray. Hagar: Amodei wants to be Nevada governor - if Heller doesn't. August 5, 2015. Reno Gazette-Journal. August 6, 2015.
8. News: Richardson. Seth A.. Amodei says he won't run for governor. January 18, 2017. Reno Gazette-Journal. January 18, 2017.
9. Former Congressman Joe Heck Turns Lobbyist. February 9, 2017. Newsmax. February 18, 2017.
10. News: Epstein. Ethan. Heck opens up about K Street move. February 9, 2017. Politico. February 18, 2017.
11. News: Schneider. Elena. Heller to run for reelection, not governor, in Nevada. December 29, 2016. Politico. January 17, 2017.
12. News: Hagar. Ray. The latest theory: Sen. Heller, Gov. Sandoval could switch jobs in 2018. July 3, 2014. Reno Gazette-Journal. March 7, 2015. https://archive.today/20150309224518/http://blogs.rgj.com/politics/2014/07/03/the-latest-theory-sen-heller-gov-sandoval-could-switch-jobs/. March 9, 2015. dead.
13. News: Richardson. Seth A.. Heller leaves possible run for governor open. May 5, 2016. Reno Gazette-Journal. July 6, 2016.
14. News: Ralston. Jon. Politics: Pol positioning. November 28, 2016. KNPR. January 3, 2017.
15. News: Republican Assembly leader to resign, take top state economic development job. The Nevada Independent. Messerly. Megan. September 20, 2017. September 21, 2017.
16. News: Ralston. Jon. Nevada GOP caucus a proxy war for Hutchison, Laxalt. February 4, 2016. Reno Gazette-Journal. July 6, 2016.
17. News: Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison rules out run for governor. January 9, 2017. Associated Press. Las Vegas Sun. January 17, 2017.
18. News: Knecht to seek another office term. Nevada Appeal. October 30, 2017. November 2, 2017. October 31, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171031073142/http://www.nevadaappeal.com/news/lahontan-valley/knecht-to-seek-another-term/. dead.
19. News: Hagar. Ray. Krolicki's political career might not be over. January 26, 2015. Reno Gazette-Journal. March 7, 2015.
20. News: Bob Cashell, Brian Krolicki Appointed to Tourism Commission, Sandra Douglass Morgan to Athletic Commission. KTVN. August 11, 2017. November 2, 2017.
21. News: Democrat Sisolak, longtime Clark County politician, praises Sandoval as he enters race for governor. The Nevada Independent. Rindels. Michelle. Valley. Jackie. June 22, 2017. June 22, 2017.
22. News: First-time governor candidate will focus campaign on education. 2017-11-10. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 2018-01-11. en-US.
23. Web site: Democrat Chris Giunchigliani launches gubernatorial campaign against her commission colleague. The Nevada Independent. Valley. Jackie. Rindels. Michelle. October 18, 2017. October 19, 2017.
24. News: Ralston. Jon. Change won't come to Nevada's campaign finance system until we demand it. January 19, 2016. Reno Gazette-Journal. July 6, 2016.
25. News: Sebelius. Steve. Who will Democrats pick to run for governor in 2018?. January 14, 2017. Las Vegas Review-Journal. January 16, 2017.
26. News: Democratic Senate Leader Aaron Ford announces attorney general bid, setting up likely race to replace Laxalt. The Nevada Independent. Snyder. Riley. September 12, 2017. September 12, 2017.
27. News: Juaristi considers bid for governor. Elko Daily Free Press. August 2, 2017. August 3, 2017.
28. News: Juaristi makes decision on whether to run for governor. Elko Daily Free Press. Juaristi. Vince. August 22, 2017. August 22, 2017.
29. News: State Sen. Tick Segerblom says he's jumping into Clark County Commission race. The Nevada Independent. Rindels. Michelle. July 24, 2017. August 3, 2017.
30. News: Morell. Casey. Titus Doesn't Rule Out Run Against Heller. February 8, 2017. KNPR. February 8, 2017.
31. Web site: Ryan Bundy plans to run for Nevada governor as independent. Las Vegas Review-Journal. March 8, 2018. March 9, 2018.
32. Web site: 2018 Governor Race Ratings for October 26, 2018. The Cook Political Report. en. 2021-04-10.
33. News: The Washington Post's gubernatorial race ratings. The Washington Post. October 16, 2018.
34. Web site: 2018 Governor Forecast FiveThirtyEight. FiveThirtyEight. en. October 17, 2018.
35. Web site: 2018 Gubernatorial Ratings Inside Elections. insideelections.com. en. 2017-11-15.
36. Web site: Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball » 2018 Governor. www.centerforpolitics.org. en-US. 2017-11-15.
37. Web site: 2018 Governor Races. RealClearPolitics. October 9, 2018.
38. Web site: 2018 Governor Race Ratings. Daily Kos. June 5, 2018.
39. Web site: 2018 Midterm Power Ranking. Fox News.
40. Web site: Politico Race Ratings. Politico.
41. Web site: 2018 Governor Elections: As November Nears, More Governors' Races Become Tossups . www.governing.com . en . 2018-07-18 . October 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181021005343/http://www.governing.com/topics/politics/gov-governors-races-july-ratings.html . dead .
42. Russell Best (IA) with 1%
43. Russell Best (AI) with 2%
44. Russell Best (AI) with 4%
45. Web site: 2018 Official Statewide General Election Results. Nevada Secretary of State. 2018-11-06. 2024-07-11.
46. Web site: Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts. Daily Kos. 11 August 2020.