The politically powerful union representing Clark County School District teachers is endorsing Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, it announced Monday.

That’s a shift from the 2022 election cycle, when the Clark County Education Association (CCEA) declined to back Lombardo or then-incumbent Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), despite supporting him in the previous election cycle. The union’s backing of a Republican in a major race is indicative of its more maverick tendencies — it also endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024 and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) ahead of the state’s 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

In a Monday press release, the union cited bills passed in the Democrat-controlled Legislature over the past two sessions, some sponsored by Democratic lawmakers, that raised per-pupil funding and teacher pay and increased school accountability.

During the 2023 legislative session, the union worked with Lombardo on AB330, a bill that made it easier for schools to discipline students by rolling back part of a 2019 restorative justice bill. 

“His leadership has helped pave the way to ensure all students have an opportunity to receive a quality education in Nevada,” said CCEA President Marie Neisess. “Working with CCEA has been a true partnership and he has earned to be elected for a second term in 2026.”

CCEA’s latest endorsement comes a few weeks after a separate teachers union, the Nevada State Education Association (NSEA), endorsed Democratic gubernatorial candidate, Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford. NSEA cited Ford’s legal efforts to push back against President Donald Trump, who recently gave Lombardo his “Complete and Total Endorsement.”

CCEA members voted in 2018 to break away from NSEA, becoming the state’s largest union representing teachers.