“I didn’t see the frailty … he was pretty good right down to the very end,” former Democratic governor on Joe Biden
By Mark Robison, Reno Gazette Journal, April 11, 2025
Former Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak says he’s considering running again in 2026 and that he wouldn’t have changed his COVID lockdown policy.
His comments came in an interview published Friday in the New York Times.
Sisolak lost to Republican Joe Lombardo in Nevada’s 2022 governor’s race by about 15,000 votes out of roughly 1 million cast. He was the only incumbent Democratic governor to lose that year.
For the 2026 race, Lombardo and Democrat Aaron Ford — Nevada’s attorney general — are the only declared candidates so far.
Lombardo has a net approval rating of plus-23% after taking voters who approve of him and subtracting voters who disapprove, according to a new Morning Consult survey.
The Cook Political Report — a national election forecaster — rates the Nevada governor’s race as one of the nation’s few toss-ups between Democrats and Republicans.
Will Sisolak run for governor in Nevada again?
“I’m not ruling it out — I’m looking into it,” Sisolak said when asked if he’s considering challenging Lombardo.
He added people tell him daily they wish he’d run again and that he’s doing polling to see what his chances might be.
What about COVID lockdowns?
Sisolak faced much criticism over lockdowns and their length during the COVID pandemic, including putting harsher restrictions on churches than casinos.
Nevada was in the top 10 states for COVID death rates, and some states that quickly lifted lockdowns such as South Dakota and Florida had much lower death rates.
Asked whether he could overcome anger over the lockdowns in another gubernatorial run, he said, “Our priorities were saving people’s lives, and that’s what we did. I wouldn’t go back on that.”
Should Biden have run again?
Sisolak said he didn’t know if Joe Biden should’ve run again but that the now-former president seemed sharp to him.
“I didn’t see the frailty, or whatever you want to call it, that existed,” Sisolak said. “The meetings that I had with him, and they were numerous, and the events that I did for him — he was pretty good right down to the very end.”
Republican PAC says Lombardo would win rematch
The Lombardo-linked Better Nevada political action committee said that Sisolak would try to bring back “woke” progressive policies that voters already rejected.
“Nevadans support Gov. Lombardo’s common-sense leadership, that’s why they’ll vote for him again in 2026,” said Better Nevada PAC spokesman John Burke.
Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to [email protected] or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.