Flock becomes a campaign issue in Nevada

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In today's edition: Flock has its fingerprints all over Nevada politics. Plus: Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) answers our most burning questions, the DGA finally swoops in on his behalf and Speaker Mike Johnson (R) reveals his favorite video game. 

I've touched down in Las Vegas for a week of reporting on Southern Nevada's congressional contests and should have some juicy stories on those match-ups this month. In the meantime, our team is all over the governor race. 

This newsletter is published every week. We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected]. 

Getting Ford on the record

On Thursday night, The Boss grilled Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) for about 90 minutes. The spirited interview covered everything from data centers to Medicaid fraud.

If you're feeling nostalgic for the long-running television show that Jon Ralston used to host, you can watch the interview on YouTube. If you want a CliffsNotes version, we've also got you covered. 

Ralston brought forward questions we've been clamoring to get answered for a while. It gave us the chance to hear from Ford directly, rather than from a campaign spokesperson or a written statement that's often devoid of human detail and designed to be as milquetoast as possible (a problem, it's worth noting, that exists in all campaigns).

Ralston got Ford to speak publicly for the first time on a variety of issues, including acknowledging that Ford's office won $40 million in Medicaid fraud judgments but not all that money has been collected. 

During the conversation, Ford apologized for an ad his team released that featured old endorsements from his previous attorney general campaign, including from law enforcement officials who are backing Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) this cycle. Specifically, Ford said that regardless of who made the ad decisions, the buck stops with him. "That was a bad look for my campaign. … I hate that I hurt [the law enforcement official] like that."

Ford also talked about a Clark County judge's decision to toss out forgery charges brought by his office against Nevada's six "fake electors" for the second time.

He said his office put its best case forward. He added that he regretted testifying in the case because it undermined the lawsuit by leading the judge to understand there wasn't a specific law on the books addressing fake electors.

Still, he said his office will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court, while noting the case is likely to extend beyond his tenure as attorney general.

The interview with Ralston was tough. As both a voter and a reporter, I'm glad that Ford was willing to sit down and speak publicly, and that Lombardo did the same style of interview earlier this year. 

I'm still hoping to see a debate between the two candidates hosted by The Indy. Ford says he's a "maybe." Lombardo also has not indicated whether he's going to participate.

— Tabitha Mueller

A Flock of bipartisan fury

Automated license plate readers — specifically those from the company Flock Safety — are increasingly becoming an issue on the campaign trail, sparking the same type of bipartisan fury as data centers.

Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) told The Nevada Independent in a statement Thursday that Flock cameras raise "serious concerns about Nevadans' right to privacy" and the state needs "stringent rules to protect against the abuse of Flock cameras." 

He added that if elected governor, he will work with lawmakers to pass "essential guardrails" and until those protections are in place, he does not support the use of Flock cameras.

Ford also took a swipe at his opponent, writing in a statement published by his campaign that Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) received "campaign cash from the pro-data center billionaire who privately funded the Flock cameras now operating in Las Vegas.

Ford is referring to an article that points to the Better Nevada PAC, which is affiliated with Lombardo, receiving $1 million from Ben and Felicia Horowitz in May. Ben Horowitz is co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has been a lead investor in Flock and other AI and data center companies. Reporting from The Indy shows that most of the Flock cameras in the Las Vegas area were bought with money from the Horowitz Foundation.

Lombardo, who previously served as sheriff of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, told The Indy in a statement that he "supports" the use of license plate readers with the caveat that "they must be accompanied by strong safeguards to protect the privacy and constitutional rights of citizens."

Flock has poured at least $2 million into federal and state lobbying since 2025, according to the nonpartisan research group Open Secrets. Though lobbyist compensation data isn't publicly available in Nevada, Flock Safety hired four lobbyists in the state during the 2025 legislative session, according to a list of registered lobbyists. The company advocated for a bill that year revising how law enforcement purchases drone technology.

Three lobbyists also represented Flock's rival license plate reader company, Axon, which has contracts with multiple law enforcement agencies in Nevada.

— Isabella Aldrete and Tabitha Mueller

What we're reading and writing

Where do 2nd Congressional District candidates David Flippo (R) and Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D) stand on undocumented immigrants, Israel and raising taxes? 

The nominees for Assembly District 35 are very moderate, very mindful.

In a hyperpartisan Congress, the upcoming elections aren't helping Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) pass his Northern Nevada lands bill.

This race is a referendum on how much Nevada voters trust elections.

Will Democrats win a supermajority in the state assembly? This seat could decide. 

School board candidates share ideas to improve education. 

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Indy Ad Watch: The DGA arrives!

Our most devoted Indy Elections readers will note that we've been tracking spending in Nevada's governor race and closely watching whether the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) will get involved.

We got our answer Thursday. 

Data from AdImpact shows a political action committee affiliated with the DGA, A More Affordable Nevada, placed an ad purchase of more than $105,000 that day. 

As of Monday morning, AdImpact showed the group's total spending was more than $245,200. 

A More Affordable Nevada has two attack ads running as of Monday morning: an advertisement in Spanish attacking Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) on the economy and an ad in English that highlights the high cost of living in Nevada. Both ads refer to a statement by Lombardo that Nevadans "need to … maybe feel a little pain."

Even as Democratic spending in the campaign sphere has jumped to $1.27 million, Republicans still hold the ad-spending advantage, with more than $37.4 million spent or reserved so far. 

— Tabitha Mueller

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Mini Series: Can Trump take your mail-in ballot? 

📭 Will you get to vote by mail? — Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (D) says President Donald Trump's push to curb mail-in voting won't affect this year's midterms in Nevada. 

• Trump's executive order demanding the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) verify all mail-in ballots against state lists of registered voters is again tied up in the courts. 
• Currently, all registered voters in Nevada receive mail ballots, unless they opt out. 
• Aguilar says USPS does not have time to accurately implement a new rule, pointing to mail ballot blunders during the primary. 
• Sample ballots are scheduled to go out to voters Sept. 17, with military-overseas ballots distributed the following day. Mail ballots are then scheduled to go to residents outside Nevada by Sept. 24 and in-state by Oct. 12.  

🧊 ICE looking into voter rolls?  — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is looking for private contractors to purchase voter registration data across all 50 states for "fraud detection" purposes, according to a federal contracting notice published earlier this month. Twenty-one states, including Nevada, have open availability of voter files — which include a voter's name and address.  

• It's part of a broader effort from the Trump administration to analyze voter data ahead of the 2026 midterms, especially in Nevada. On Monday, CNN reported that an arm of ICE is planning to investigate voter fraud in nine states, including Nevada.

👾An Indy exclusive — To wrap up House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) trip to Las Vegas  last week, The Indy asked the speaker and congressional candidate/video game music composer Marty O'Donnell (R)what their favorite video games are. Johnson told The Indy that his favorites are the "classics," including Pac-Man. O'Donnell said he is "partial" to some of the video games he worked on, but called it a tie between Ico and "all the Zeldas." 

💸 ICE tax — A new report from immigration reform advocacy organization America's Voice blames Trump's deportations for harming Nevada's economy. According to state-specific numbers shared with The Nevada Independent, ICE arrests in Las Vegas and Reno have jumped more than 277 percent since 2024. Nevada is one of the five states in the country most reliant on immigrant labor. Between June 2024 and June of this year, construction employment and new single-family home permits fell in those five states while growing elsewhere.

🚓 Billboard arrest — With the help of automated license plate readers, police made an arrest in connection with the vandalization of campaign billboards featuring California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). The suspect, 73-year-old David Lawrence Smith, denied the charges, but called Newsom "a Nazi that supports a follically challenged brown guy," per KSNV.

— Mini Racker and Isabella Aldrete

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Looking Ahead

• Friday, Sept. 4  — Deadline to opt out of receiving a mail ballot
• Wednesday, Sept. 30  — IndyTalks Reno Mayoral Forum

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A post that caught our eye: 

Why do an interview with them … when you could do an interview with us? 😇

We'll see you next week. 

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