Kamala Harris to Rally Las Vegas Casino Union Members Ahead of Nevada Gubernatorial

The nation’s largest casino union is enlisting former Vice President Kamala Harris to rally members to vote Democratic next month and oust Nevada’s Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

Harris is coming to Las Vegas on Wednesday (Oct. 21) to campaign for Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford to become the state’s next governor. Ford is challenging the incumbent Lombardo, the former sheriff of Clark County who gained national prominence following the Oct. 1, 2017, Las Vegas massacre.

The Culinary Union, which represents 60,000 casino and hospitality workers in Las Vegas and Reno, is hosting Harris at its union headquarters on Spring Mountain Road in Las Vegas. The event is not open to the public but only to members of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226 and Bartenders Union Local 165.

“Governor Lombardo has done nothing to protect workers from the Trump Slump. As Lombardo runs for re-election in a state built and run by unionized hospitality workers, Culinary Union continues to demand to know why the governor stands with Trump’s harmful economic agenda instead of fighting and delivering for the working people who run Nevada’s economy.”

Can Culinary Turn Governor’s Mansion Blue?

Recent polling puts the Nevada gubernatorial race in a dead heat, with RealClearPolitics calling it a “toss-up.” Culinary leaders hope to convince union members to vote for Ford.

The union says that, along with being a Trump ally, Lombardo has failed to support workers at Station Casinos as they fight to organize.

“[Lombardo] hasn’t done anything to stand with workers employed at Station Casinos, a company federal labor regulators found carried out ‘extensive, coercive, and unlawful misconduct’ against its own employees, including illegally firing workers and using the pandemic as cover to discriminate against workers trying to organize. The Fertittas, who control Station Casinos, each donated $1 million to a Lombardo-affiliated PAC, while Station Casinos itself donated another $1 million. They collectively were responsible for about one-third of all money raised by Lombardo in 2025,” the union said.

Though he doesn’t have the Culinary Union’s support, other unions back Lombardo, including the Clark County Education Association, which represents over 18,000 educators in the state’s largest school district. Lombardo is additionally endorsed by the Professional Firefighters of Nevada. Trump has also lent his backing.

Ford is endorsed by the Nevada State Education Association.

Nevada Gubernatorial Odds

Prediction markets suggest Ford will win the Nov. 3 contest, with his shares trading at 55 cents. Lombardo is the underdog at 45 cents.

As for down-ballot state office elections, the Nevada Public Opinion Poll conducted by Nobile Predictive Insights is forecasting a Democratic sweep, including lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, controller, and attorney general.