Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo’s re-election campaign promoted industry recruitment, while a separate September order set data-center tax terms for developers seeking partial abatements, including full payment of the Local School Support Tax.
Washoe County’s official list for the Nov. 3 governor’s race names Joseph Lombardo, Republican; Democratic candidate Aaron D. Ford; and nonpartisan Danielle Ford. Nevada’s Secretary of State says results remain unofficial until the statewide canvass is complete.
Lombardo’s campaign announced its Nevadans Working Together plan on Sept. 3. It named critical minerals, health care, sports, technology, advanced manufacturing and corporate headquarters as sectors it aimed to attract. The plan also addressed housing, education, economic growth, health care and public safety. It proposed workforce training and incentive conditions tied to electricity, water, employment and investment.
Those campaign proposals are distinct from Executive Order 2026-005, which the governor’s office announced Sept. 18 and which sets specific terms for data-center abatements.
To seek a partial abatement, a data center’s combined rate across sales and use taxes must reach at least 4.6%. The order requires applicants to pay in full the tax imposed by Nevada’s Sales and Use Tax Act and the Local School Support Tax. Applicants must also make a community-support commitment that covers water, grid reliability and the cost of serving their facilities. Project expenses should not be shifted to other utility customers, the order says.
The governor’s office says the law establishing the abatement program passed in 2015. The office also says the Legislature expanded the economic-development board’s authority in 2025 to reject applications, approve smaller abatements or impose conditions. The governor’s office has framed the policy as a way to attract data-center investment while preserving education funding and protecting water, grid reliability and existing utility customers.
The statewide canvass must be completed by Nov. 13, the Secretary of State says.
