LAS VEGAS — Republican Joe Lombardo will become Nevada’s next governor, making the unconventional leap from county sheriff to the state’s top executive office after unseating first-term Democrat Gov. Steve Sisolak by a razor-thin margin.
Sisolak, 68, who was Nevada’s first Democratic governor in nearly two decades, announced Friday afternoon that he had conceded the race and reached out to Lombardo to “wish him success.”
“While votes are still coming in – and we need every ballot tallied and every voice heard – it appears we will fall a percentage point or so short of winning,” Sisolak said in a statement. “Obviously that is not the outcome I want, but I believe in our election system, in democracy and honoring the will of Nevada voters. So whether you voted for me or Sheriff Lombardo, it is important that we now come together to continue moving the state forward.”
