Aaron Ford has made history in the Silver State. The Democratic attorney general has won the race for governor of Nevada, defeating Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, according to The Associated Press. With the win, Ford becomes the first Black governor in Nevada’s history.

Unseating an incumbent governor is never easy, and Ford pulled it off in one of the country’s most closely watched swing states, a state President Donald Trump carried in 2024. Lombardo, a former Clark County sheriff, won the office in 2022 by defeating Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak.

Four years later, Ford turned the tables in a hard-fought campaign that political analysts rated a tossup heading into Election Day.

Ford built his career as a trailblazer long before this race. He has served as Nevada’s attorney general since 2019, becoming the first Black person to hold that office. Before that, he served in the Nevada State Senate, where he rose to become majority leader.

On the campaign trail, Ford positioned himself as a fighter for working Nevadans and an aggressive check on the Trump administration. He drew a sharp contrast with Lombardo, arguing that Nevadans needed a governor who would stand up for them. He promised a state government built on a simple message to residents: “you matter.”

His victory caps a historic stretch of results for Black leadership in governors’ offices across the country. On the same election night, Republican Byron Donalds became Florida’s first Black governor, David Crowley became Wisconsin’s first Black governor and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore won a second term.

Ford will take office in January, leading a state that has become a battleground in nearly every national election and now has a governor who made history to get there.