Lombardo and Ford are unlikely to debate — what you need to know about the standoff

Indy Elections takes you behind the headlines of Nevada politics, delivering scoops and smart analysis on the races that could reshape our lives. You can change your newsletter settings here.

In today's edition: The debate over debates. Plus: New outside spending in #nvgov, why Turning Point Action is sharing your data and wait, who's calling Marilyn Dondero Loop a socialist?

We've got another jam-packed election newsletter edition for you, so I won't take up too much of your time. I would like to quickly highlight The Nevada Independent's election misinformation project. 

As part of the project, we're testing a new community tool where you can submit a report about local election information you think might be incorrect or raises questions you want answered. 

Please use the tool if you notice anything that seems off!

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

Why won't you debate me bro?

Last week, Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) didn't attend a "debate" KUNR hosted.

His opponent, Attorney General Aaron Ford (D), then launched a series of attacks accusing Lombardo of trying to cancel the event altogether after a Republican legislator rescinded his approval of a legislative room as a venue.

We've received at least 18 press releases from the Ford campaign and other supporters bashing "no-show Joe." One email accused Lombardo of attempting to shut it down because "he's too scared to participate."

But Ford is also avoiding a debate invitation from Lombardo on a conservative Las Vegas radio show. He also didn't debate his primary opponent, Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill (D), despite her very public campaign calling for one. 

Asked last week about not debating Hill, Ford called it a "fair point."

Though Ford recently accepted a debate invitation from The Nevada Independent, he declined the outlet's initial invitation in September — too late for Lombardo's campaign, which has cited a scheduling conflict.

From a strategic perspective, debates can benefit similarly matched candidates, but they also risk gaffes and mischaracterizations. Lombardo has already had a few unscripted moments that didn't go exactly as planned.

Instead, both candidates are playing it safe — hosting policy roundtables that offer little new information and touting their talking points without anyone to grill them. 

Ford holds press conferences about once a week, while Lombardo routinely eschews off-the-cuff media appearances and does not typically gaggle with reporters. 

Still, Ford's roundtables and press events have limited opportunities for questions.

Prerna Jagadeesh, a spokesperson for Ford's campaign, noted that Ford has done 60 interviews since the primary, including with partisan and nonpartisan outlets. Jagadeesh added that press conferences are, by nature, limited in timing and availability, and that some events allow unlimited questions.

In contrast, she said Lombardo has only done nine interviews, primarily with partisan outlets, and held one open press campaign event where he took questions from reporters since the June primary election.

Lombardo spokesperson Halee Dobbins noted that the governor has held five sit-downs with The Nevada Independent CEO Jon Ralston as part of IndyTalks events and has conducted other interviews with reporters throughout the election cycle and his time in office. She added that Lombardo was on six Nevada-based podcasts since running for re-election.

There's always a natural tension, a push-and-pull between campaigns and reporters when it comes to candidate accessibility.

We can quibble about the amount of access press get and the quality versus quantity of interviews, but allow us to lament the loss of a debate — a format, while flawed, that nonetheless doesn't allow candidates to hide behind carefully crafted statements, staff or social media when it comes to tough questions on their record or how they'd achieve their lofty goals.

— Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren

What we're reading and writing

I'd hate to be the Board of Pardons IT guy right now …

We forgot to put "Did the moon landing happen?" on our policy comparisons.

One person listed as a major donor to NV-02 GOP nominee David Flippo (R) said they haven't given him any money.

Voters hate AI. Some unions say it's unfair to blame data centers.

Indy Ad Watch: Give us some credit

Former Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin's (R) policy group, Empowering America's Parents, is continuing a multimillion-dollar paid media blitz in the Silver State. 

Representatives did not indicate specifics on the spending but said "the Nevada spend is well into six figures" and will run on digital, YouTube and Univision.

The campaign thanks Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) (in English and Spanish) for opting into the Education Freedom Tax Credit program, which provides a federal income tax credit for donations to organizations that give out education scholarships. 

Other ads that have caught our attention:

• Six-figure attack ads from former Assm. Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Reno) and small-business owner David Flippo (R) are keeping Northern Nevada's airwaves busy. That doesn't even count a $750,000 investment from Restoration of America PAC, a national super PAC mostly funded by billionaire GOP megadonor Richard Uihlein.
• Elections forecasters consider the congressional race in the 4th Congressional District the state's least competitive, but there are ads running there nonetheless, with Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) and his allies massively outspending rancher and small-business owner Cody Whipple (R). Per AdImpact, Whipple has spent a little more than $90,000, while Democrats have spent more than 11 times that.
  • Horsford's ads strike a populist tone, highlighting how "corporations are making record profits" and "families lose while corrupt Washington does just fine." In one, he says, "I don't trade stocks," while a digital ad touts his status as "the buzzkill of Congress" because he wants to ban stock trading for members. 
  • The Effective Governing Coalition, a 501(c)4, has spent six figures for an ad on his behalf focused on health insurance claim denials. 
  • Plus, a crypto super PAC is spending seven figures and advertising for him, while a small amount of House franked spending highlights his "congressman on the job" initiative.
  • A Whipple ad, meanwhile, highlights his support for the president's "plan for mandatory voter ID." Another — which, according to AdImpact, hasn't aired since last month, states, "I don't answer to D.C. bosses, I answer to you." 

— Tabitha Mueller and Mini Racker

Mini Series: Comrade Marilyn?

🆘 MDL's Red Scare — A seemingly Republican-affiliated phone number is texting voters an image that falsely advertises state Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop (D-Las Vegas) as the "keynote speaker" at a "Socialism 101" meeting of the Las Vegas Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). 

• "To be perfectly clear: I have never attended a DSA meeting," she wrote in a statement to The Indy.
  • She suggested her opponent, businessman George Harris (R), was to blame for the texts, but Harris told The Indy his campaign had no involvement. Harris previously described Dondero Loop as "a member of the DSA" on a conservative radio show.
• Las Vegas DSA co-chair Shaun Navarro confirmed that Dondero Loop has never attended a DSA event and said she would likely never be invited to one. "I find it very silly and absurd," Navarro said.
• A clue into the flyer's veracity (or lack thereof): It was texted to voters on Oct. 8, despite advertising the event date as Sept. 5 (the date of a real "Socialism 101" event hosted by Las Vegas DSA). 
• The phone number that sent the flyer doesn't identify itself in the message or state which group paid for it, potentially violating Nevada law. But it's almost certainly GOP-aligned: The same number previously sent texts asking voters if they believe in the right to bear arms or want to see the gas tax abolished. 
• The flyer being fake didn't stop it from spreading online:
  • Kimberly Johnston-Lindsay, a Clark County representative for Turning Point Action, posted the flyer on X. 
  • Las Vegas Review-Journal opinion columnist Victor Joecks then reposted Johnston-Lindsay's post, writing that Dondero Loop was "in a swing state Senate district … This flyer shows her courting DSA support." 
  • Neither Johnston-Lindsay nor Joecks returned requests for comment.

📊County count — National Democrats are optimistic about the possibility of flipping the 2nd Congressional District. The math shows it's an uphill battle:

• If turnout in each county remained proportional to what it was in 2024, the results outside of Washoe County looked the same this year, and the same share of voters supported a third-party candidate, former Assm. Teresa Benitez-Thompson (D-Reno) would need to earn about 58 percent of the vote in Washoe to win the race. 
• A Democratic House candidate has never even won a majority there, so this seems very unlikely. 
• However, a few factors make that model too simplistic: namely, Democrats' much higher relative enthusiasm about the midterms and a third-party candidate who threatens to disproportionately drain votes from small-business owner David Flippo (R).

📱Chase the vote, see the voters — The political arm of Turning Point USA is recruiting supporters on X to download an app and help "chase" ballots for conservative candidates, including in Nevada. It's extremely easy to use — and get access to a ton of personal data.

• When The Indy downloaded the app last week, it asked only for a phone number and a text verification code before giving access to voters' names, addresses and phone numbers, along with a feature that locates Republican voters nearby. Much of that information can already be found in Nevada on voter registration lists, though voters can ask county election officials to withhold their address and phone number. 
• Turning Point Action's website says the app includes voter lists and lets users rate the voters they contact by their political leanings following door-knocking interactions.
  • Turning Point did not respond to questions about where the app's voter data comes from, how users are vetted and what safeguards are in place to prevent misuse. 
• Unlike the public voter file, which has to be requested from election officials, the app puts voters' contact information on a searchable map for anyone with a phone, making it easier to track down a specific person. Calls and texts to voters also go out from volunteers' personal phone numbers, which strangers can then save or share, and the app's developer says in its App Store listing that it collects users' precise location.
• Mother Jones reported in October 2024 that a reporter used the platform to look up voters' personal information, while Democrats' main canvassing app, MiniVan, required a code from a campaign official before providing any voter data. 
• The app, listed in the App Store as TPACTION, was built by Superfeed Technologies, which also makes an app for the Nevada Republican Party. The two apps are nearly identical. The Nevada GOP app uses the same phone number sign-up and gives users the same access to voters' contact information, though it omits a few Turning Point-specific features, such as its merchandise shop and its scorecard, which rates members of Congress and state lawmakers on how they voted on issues the group tracks.
  • The Nevada Republican Party did not return a request for comment.

— Kate Reynolds, Mini Racker and Piper Heath

Looking Ahead

• Saturday, Oct. 17  — Early voting begins
• Thursday, Oct. 22 — First day of IndyFest

A post that caught our eye: 

AI-generated ads just keep getting weirder…

We'll see you Thursday. 

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