“The key conclusion from the survey is that Joe Lombardo’s support among voters is extremely shallow, and his weak performance as governor has the potential to create significant movement against him as he prepares to run for reelection next year.” - pollster Geoff Garin

A new poll reported on by the Nevada Independent affirms that Joe Lombardo is the most vulnerable Republican governor running for reelection and has “no real depth” of support. The poll shows Lombardo’s vulnerabilities are significant, starting with the fact that only 38% rate him as “just so-so” and another 24% rate his performance as “not so good” or “poor.” Lombardo is weaker than average with Latino voters - who play a crucial role in Nevada elections – with just 29% rating his performance positively. 

Once respondents are presented with details of Lombardo’s record in office, negative views of him nearly double, demonstrating just how shallow his current approval ratings are. According to pollster Geoff Garin, “the high degree of movement speaks both to the weakness of his position and to the potency of the criticisms against him.”

The poll also shows Lombardo’s support of Trump and Trump’s policies damage his support in-state. Trump’s policies, including cost-raising tariffs and igniting a trade war that has significantly hampered international travel, are unpopular with likely voters with only 36% of voters saying Trump’s policies have been good for Nevada. Lombardo not standing up to Trump to defend Nevadans hurts his support, with a large plurality of voters saying he has not been willing enough to take on Trump.

Lombardo’s weak job performance ratings reflect the fact that a majority of Nevadans, 56%, believe the state is headed off on the wrong track under his watch. Nearly all respondents (95%) say the cost of living has worsened in the state, including 63% who say it has become much less affordable. An overwhelming majority (86%) say the state of education in Nevada has changed for the worse during his tenure.

This comes as Joe Lombardo, whose reelection was rated as a “tossup” by Cook Political Report and who NBC News identified as the “most vulnerable Republican governor up for re-election”, will be linked to Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill”, which will kick over 100,000 Nevadans off their health care and cut SNAP benefits in order to pay for tax cuts for billionaires. After his team initially lied about Republicans’ intentions to cut Medicaid, a cowardly Lombardo celebrated Trump’s tax bill despite the fact that the bill will be “uniquely” harmful to Nevada.

Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Tai Sims: 

“This latest poll confirms what we’ve known all along: Joe Lombardo is the most vulnerable Republican governor running for reelection next year. The overwhelming majority of Nevadans believe that the cost of living and education has worsened and that Nevada overall is moving in the wrong direction on Lombardo’s watch. As Lombardo continues to cheer on Trump’s price-raising agenda he will have to reckon with voters who aren’t as ‘excited’ as he is about Trump’s policies.“