In today’s political environment, former Rep. Tip O’Neill’s (D-MA) axiom that “all politics are local” doesn’t always feel quite accurate. 

Instead, thanks to nonstop national headlines being algorithmically spoon-fed to us in our social media feeds, all politics seem intrinsically colored by national happenings. 

To be fair though, national partisan tensions have always been a part of local politics, and for good reason: It’s low hanging fruit for candidates who are eager to tie their opponents to unpopular national partisan perceptions. 

In his first official campaign ad for governor, for example, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford accused Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo of “standing shoulder to shoulder” with Donald Trump — clearly hoping to capitalize on the GOP’s toxic lurch rightward under Trumpism. In response, Lombardo’s allies have already started tying Ford to the “woke” progressivism of the far left. 

As we roll into what’s likely to be a close gubernatorial election, expect more of the same from both parties. As some random guy on X.com sarcastically pointed out recently, “The really interesting question about the 2026 gubernatorial race is whether Nevadans will vote for the radical leftist who hates America or the Trump-loving rightie who hates the poor.”

Beyond the partisan mudslinging, however, it is worth noting that national politics really will weigh heavily on how Nevada’s gubernatorial race shapes up — regardless of how mainstream or moderate any of the candidates appear on paper. 

For starters, in the immortal words of James Carville, “It’s the economy, stupid.” 

It’s generally accepted in political circles that when economic times are good, incumbents tend to benefit; and when times are bad, incumbents tend to suffer. Considering Nevada’s dependence on national trends for our economic well-being, this truth could be generating a bit of heartburn among Gov. Lombardo’s team. 

Visitation levels to Las Vegas are already down and the Trump administration clearly has no appetite for relenting on the protectionist trade policies weighing down an otherwise opportunity-rich national economy. 

While the inflationary effects of arbitrarily slapping massive taxes on imports has been tepid so far, prices are nonetheless climbing in response to Trump’s tariff diktats. Economists with the Harvard Business School’s Pricing Lab project have noted “a cumulative increase in imported goods prices” of approximately 3 percent among retail products. 

That increase, however, is only the beginning. With massive new tariffs set to be implemented in coming weeks, some economic sectors will find it harder to cope than others. As the Tax Foundation noted in a recent report, for example, food prices will be far more vulnerable to tariffs than other sectors, since domestic alternatives often don’t exist for the types of food we generally import.  

The silver lining (for Republicans and financially strapped consumers alike) is that the costs of these tariffs haven’t yet become fully apparent in the broader market. 

As the Financial Times reported, while tariff costs are already showing up for certain consumer products, the overall inflation rate has largely been held in check by falling prices in other categories — categories such as used cars and energy production. And while uncertainty has definitely wreaked havoc with manufacturers and investors, the relative strength of certain niche sectors — such as technology — has managed to keep the overall economy afloat. 

Should any of those offsetting conditions begin to deteriorate, the broader economy could start to stumble. And a stumble for the nation could quite quickly turn into a panic for Nevada — making Trump’s agenda an uncomfortable focal point for Republicans in local elections.  

Even that, however, wouldn’t mean an easy path to victory for Democrats. Simply portraying themselves as part of an anti-Trump party isn’t going to be enough for any candidate to secure the governorship in a swing state such as Nevada — especially considering the degree to which Democrats have fallen out of favor in recent years. 

Nationally, Democrats are experiencing a bit of an identity crisis and finding it difficult to hold on to voters in the process. According to a new poll by The Wall Street Journal, more Americans currently view Democrats unfavorably than at any time since the 1990s. While part of the decline can likely be attributed to the general malaise of Joe Biden’s tenure, numbers have continued to deteriorate for the Democrats since the 2024 election — indicating a far deeper challenge for the party.

Or, to put it another way, it’s easy to see why our state politics in Nevada could easily be consumed by national topics. In much the same way Democrats will be eager to paint Gov. Lombardo as some MAGA extremist if our economy tanks, Republicans will be eager to categorize any Democratic challenger as some far-left avatar for everything voters have grown to dislike about team blue.

Sure, all politics might still, ultimately, be dependent on our local economy, focused on our local concerns and contingent upon local demographics — but the absurdity of our national discourse is something that’s going to infect virtually any and all competitive races up and down the ballot. 

And in that sense, all politics have become lamentably national nowadays.

Michael Schaus is a communications and branding expert based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and founder of Schaus Creative LLC — an agency dedicated to helping organizations, businesses and activists tell their story and motivate change. He has more than a decade of experience in public affairs commentary, having worked as a news director, columnist, political humorist, and most recently as the director of communications for a public policy think tank. Follow him on Twitter @schausmichael or on Substack @creativediscourse.