Trump Endorses Joe Lombardo For Nevada Governor

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo responds to a question during a media briefing at the Las Vegas Metro Police headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 3, 2017. Aaron Rouse, FBI Special Agent in Charge of the Las Vegas Division, looks on at right. (Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus)

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who is running in Nevada’s Republican gubernatorial primary race for the post of state governor, has received an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, who called him a “leader” the state needs.

A veteran of the U.S. Army and the Nevada National Guard, Lombardo joined the Las Vegas Police Department in 1988. For the past 34 years, Lombardo has “bravely served and protected” the people of Nevada, Trump said in a statement issued via his Save America political action committee.

As Sheriff of Clark County, Lombardo has fought “some of the worst criminals and defended neighborhoods and communities from the horrific violence enabled by the Radical Left across our great Country.”

“As Governor, Joe will fiercely Protect our under-siege Second Amendment, Oppose Sanctuary Cities, Support our Law Enforcement, Veto any Liberal Tax Increase, Protect Life, and Secure our Elections. Joe Lombardo is the leader Nevada needs, and he has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Governor!” Trump said.

Lombardo will be facing multiple other GOP candidates in the gubernatorial race. This includes former Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), who lost a reelection bid despite garnering the support of Trump back in 2018; Las Vegas City Councilwoman Michele Fiore, who has been a strong public supporter of Trump, even sticking a “Trump 2024” sticker on a truck during her first campaign video; Joey Gilbert, who characterized himself as “Trump from the jump”; John Lee, who has launched a TV ad accusing Lombardo of defying Trump by allowing Las Vegas to become a sanctuary city, and many more.

“I’m grateful to receive President Donald Trump’s endorsement today,” Lombardo said in a statement to the Reno Gazette Journal. “From his tough on crime policies to his unwavering support of law enforcement, I know that there has been no greater friend to veterans and police officers than President Trump.”

Of all the Republican candidates running in the elections, Lombardo raised the most money, with almost $3 million cash on hand, over two times more than other GOP candidates.

A recent poll by Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights, conducted April 1–9, found Lombardo to be ahead of other Republican hopefuls. He was the only GOP candidate to poll within single digits of leading Democrat contender Steve Sisolak, the current Governor of Nevada. A poll conducted by Suffolk University/Reno Gazette Journal found Lombardo leading Sisolak by 3 percentage points.

Following the Trump endorsement, a spokesperson for Sisolak issued a statement insisting that the former president’s support indicates that Lombardo’s campaign is hitting the panic button.

“After getting attacks from all sides on the airwaves, called out for hiding, ripped for having it both ways on immigration, and hours after a brutal editorial from the conservative Review-Journal on his lack of transparency and record of wasting taxpayer money, it’s no surprise Lombardo is reaching out for a lifeline,” the spokesperson said, according to News 3 LV.