Aaron Ford (Nevada politician)

Aaron D. Ford was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1972, the oldest of three boys.⁠[1][2]

His mother was a homemaker and for several years a single mother before a 27-year career in the postal service. Recalling the family’s finances in his childhood, Ford said: “My motivation was to be different than what I experienced growing up.”⁠[2]

His campaign website says he relied on food stamps, Medicaid and public schools early in life.⁠[3]

Ford took part in Upward Bound, a program for students who could be the first in their families to attend college, after his mother signed him up; he later won a half-tuition academic scholarship to Texas A&M University, where he earned a B.A. In college he joined a year-long study-abroad program at the Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico.⁠[2][1]

He then worked as an inner-city middle school math teacher in Austin, Texas, and later moved to the East Coast to pursue a master’s degree in education at George Washington University, teaching high school math while there.⁠[2]

He earned an M.A., a J.D. and a Ph.D. in educational administration from Ohio State University, for a total of five degrees.⁠[1][4]

From the early 2000s Ford worked in legal jobs in Las Vegas and Texas, and he settled permanently in Nevada in 2007.⁠[2]

He spent many years in private practice as a partner at Snell & Wilmer LLP and at Eglet Adams in Las Vegas.⁠[4]

In 2010 Ford ran as a Democrat for Nevada Senate District 11 and lost to the Republican incumbent, Joe Hardy.⁠[2][5]

In 2012 Ford defeated Republican John Drake 62.3% to 37.7% in the redrawn District 11, taking office in November 2012; that year both the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the Reno Gazette-Journal named him “Freshman Senator of the Year.”⁠[5][1][2]

In the Senate he was Co-Assistant Majority Whip in 2013, Minority Floor Leader in 2015 and Majority Floor Leader in 2017; he chaired the Natural Resources Committee in 2013 and served on the Education, Finance, Judiciary, and Revenue and Economic Development committees.⁠[1]

As leader of the Senate Democrats in the 2015 session, he led their fundraising, recruitment and campaign effort, and the Democrats regained the Senate majority in the 2016 election, in which he was re-elected with 57.70% of the vote.⁠[2][5]

As a state senator he led passage of legislation requiring police officers to wear body cameras, and he prompted a local district attorney to create a “Conviction Integrity Unit” to review claims of wrongful conviction.⁠[4]

On December 3, 2018, he resigned from the Senate because of his election as attorney general.⁠[1]

On November 6, 2018, Ford defeated Republican Wesley Duncan 47.2% to 46.8% to win election as Attorney General of Nevada.⁠[5]

He took office on January 7, 2019, as Nevada’s 34th attorney general, the first African American to hold statewide constitutional office in Nevada.⁠[4]

He adopted the office motto “Our Job is Justice” and set out priorities he calls the “Five Cs”: constitutional rights, criminal justice reform, consumer protection, client service and community engagement.⁠[4]

By the end of 2024 his Bureau of Consumer Protection had secured more than $118.5 million in recoveries for Nevada consumers, separate from more than $1.1 billion obtained from drug companies to address the state’s opioid crisis.⁠[4]

In office he held two statewide law enforcement summits on human trafficking, helped lead Nevada’s sexual assault kit initiative, which tested nearly 8,000 previously untested kits, and worked with his prosecutors to revive a murder cold case more than 40 years old.⁠[4]

On November 8, 2022, he was re-elected attorney general, defeating Republican Sigal Chattah 52.3% to 44.4%.⁠[5]

On July 28, 2025, Ford launched his campaign for governor of Nevada at the East Las Vegas Community Center. In a speech of nearly 17 minutes he said: “You need someone who is going to roll up their sleeves and fix what's broken.”⁠[6]

On June 9, 2026, Ford won the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 63.3% of the vote; Alexis Hill was second with 23.9%.⁠[5]

In the general election he faced Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, who was seeking re-election; he campaigned on lowering costs for Nevadans and pointed to his legal challenges to the Trump administration.⁠[7]

Early on November 4, 2026, the Associated Press called the race for Ford over Lombardo. As of 10:06 a.m. that day, AP data showed Ford with 51.7% of the vote and Lombardo with 44.2%, with an estimated 87% of votes counted. Lombardo called Ford to concede the same day. Ford is set to become Nevada’s first Black governor.⁠[7][8]

Office of the Nevada Attorney General: Official website: https://ag.nv.gov/ (opens in a new window).⁠[4]

Committee to Elect Aaron Ford: Official website: https://www.fordfornevada.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[3]

X: Public account: https://x.com/AaronDFordNV (opens in a new window).⁠[3]