Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, says he would pause new data-center tax abatements and review operators’ commitments if elected, putting an incentive law he sponsored under scrutiny.
Ford is challenging Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo. The Associated Press reported Ford won the Democratic nomination. Nevada’s official election calendar schedules the general election, including the governor’s race, for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
Ford’s campaign announced his run on July 28, 2025, and says he formally filed on March 2, 2026. His affordability agenda names housing, health care and energy as priorities. The campaign’s housing plan would restrict company purchases of single-family homes, cap rental deposits at one month’s rent, prohibit junk fees and expand support for tenants and prospective buyers. These are campaign proposals.
Ford’s data-center position has a legislative history. The 2015 text of Senate Bill 170 lists then-state Sen. Ford among its sponsors. The law authorized partial tax abatements for qualifying data centers and capped property-tax relief on eligible equipment at 75%. One qualifying tier allowed abatements for up to 10 years; a higher tier could receive them for up to 20 years. The thresholds included $25 million in investment and 10 full-time Nevada-resident employees for the first tier, and $100 million and 50 employees for the higher tier. The law tied tax relief to investment, employment and wage criteria, lowering qualifying operators’ tax bills on covered equipment.
If elected, Ford says he would task the Governor’s Office of Economic Development with checking whether data-center operators met their commitments, while suspending new abatements during that review. His platform would also require developers to arrange the electricity and water capacity their facilities need and pay for related grid expansion.
The Associated Press reported that residents have raised concerns about data centers’ possible effects on electricity bills and water supplies. The outlet also reported that Lombardo has cited Ford’s sponsorship of the 2015 law in the candidates’ policy dispute. EconoTimes previously covered union construction work at Nevada data centers and questions about AI’s effect on jobs.
Nevada’s general election, including the governor’s race, is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026.
