Nevada Election Results 2026: Long Lines Delay First Returns in Lombardo vs. Ford Governor Race

Nevada voters were still standing in line hours after polls closed on Tuesday, Nov. 3, and that pushed back the state’s first election results. The marquee race, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo against Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, had not been called in the reports we reviewed late Tuesday night Pacific time. Independent Danielle Ford is also on the ballot.

Status: Not called. Results delayed; counting continues.

Why no results yet

State law bars releasing any results until the last voter in line at 7 p.m. PT has cast a ballot, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and KTNV. Counties can count ballots before then, but nothing can be posted.

Lines were long across Clark and Washoe counties:

• About 7:50 p.m. PT, most Clark County polling places still had people waiting, the Review-Journal reported.
• At 9:43 p.m., 36 Clark County sites still had voters in line, down from 100 at 8:22 p.m., KTNV reported.
• At 10:15 p.m., voters were still in line at 11 locations, further delaying results, KTNV said.
• Voters at UNLV reported waits of up to 3.5 hours, and the University of Nevada, Reno had an estimated 350 people in line at closing, according to the Review-Journal and Nevada Current.

Clark County officials blamed high turnout, a two-page ballot and a new in-person process in which voters print a paper ballot from an electronic machine and feed it into a tabulator, the Review-Journal reported.

Turnout and mail ballots

KTNV said Secretary of State figures showed nearly 1 million Nevadans had voted, including more than 670,000 in Clark County. Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still be accepted for up to four days, and Clark County voters with signature problems can fix them through Nov. 9, the Review-Journal reported. KTNV said about 3,618 Clark County mail ballots flagged for signature issues still had to be resolved as of Tuesday evening, which could matter in close races.

What the candidates said

Lombardo told supporters to stay patient and upbeat. “Remember, four years ago, we didn’t know until Friday,” he said, according to KTNV. “I anticipate we’ll know this Thursday.” He warned that the first batch of results might favor Ford because Republicans tend to vote later, Nevada Current reported. “I don’t want anybody to lose any enthusiasm when the first dump comes,” he said.

Democrats, buoyed by the party’s results elsewhere, were optimistic. “The blue wave is coming; it’s moving across the East and coming to the West,” Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said at the state party’s watch party, the Review-Journal reported.

Nevada Current described the governor’s contest going in as “a perhaps surprisingly close race.”

Other races to watch

• U.S. House: Republicans are challenging three Democratic incumbents, and the Northern Nevada congressional district is unexpectedly close, according to Nevada Current.
• Ballot questions: Question 6 would put abortion rights in the state Constitution, and Question 7 would require voter ID, the Review-Journal reported.
• U.S. Senate: Neither Nevada Senate seat was on the ballot this year.

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