Running for Governor in Northern Nevada: A Lesson for Washoe Contenders
Can a politician from Northern Nevada win the race to become governor of Nevada? It's possible but difficult as you will see. Some candidates have little chance of winning.
Nevada is a state with two political realities: Clark County, where nearly three-quarters of Nevadans live, and everywhere else, including Washoe County.
Any candidate for governor who forgets this is finished before they start. Reno politicians have learned this lesson the hard way. A few broke through, but others will be buried under Clark County’s advantage.
One candidate who has little chance of becoming governor but gets favorable news coverage is Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill, as you will learn in this article.
Clark County is the Key to Success
The modern political power structure in Southern Nevada is inseparable from the legacy of Harry Reid, who spent decades building what became the most effective Democratic turnout machine in the western United States. Reid’s operation fused the ground strength of the Culinary Workers Union with disciplined voter data, minority outreach, and a deep bench of casino and national Democratic donors.
This machine proved its dominance repeatedly—rescuing Reid himself in his near-impossible 2010 reelection, then carrying candidates like Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, and Steve Sisolak to statewide victory.
Its genius was block-by-block canvassing, multilingual outreach, an early-voting strategy, and a focus on turnout in working-class and Latino neighborhoods. This apparatus remains the single most decisive force in statewide elections, and no candidate for governor can survive without either winning its backing.
The Situation in Reno and Washoe
In Reno, the blueprint for city- and county-level success runs through Jessica Sferrazza, whose political machine blended old-family credibility with the three forces that decide elections in Northern Nevada: unions, developers, and casino money.
As a three-term city council member and the daughter of former mayor and judge Pete Sferrazza, she inherited institutional trust. She fused it with relationships within the building trades, public-sector unions, and Reno’s growth-oriented development class. That network delivered early money, door-knockers, endorsements, and protection inside City Hall—an infrastructure robust enough to vault political newcomers like Hillary Schieve and Alexis Hill into office.
But for all its effectiveness in municipal and county races, the Sferrazza machine is Reno and Washoe-centric: built for zoning fights, redevelopment deals, and local campaigns, not for scaling into Clark County’s union-dominated, casino-funded, turnout-driven statewide battlefield.
Those Who Made it and Who Almost Made it to the Governor’s Mansion
Bob Cashell: One of the most influential Northern Nevada politicians
A successful hotel-casino operator with a warm retail-politics style, Cashell built a rare bipartisan reputation—serving as a Republican, later as a Democrat, and eventually returning to the GOP—earning broad goodwill as a pragmatic dealmaker rather than an ideologue.
Bob entered statewide service as Lieutenant Governor from 1983 to 1987, a combination of business success, local political credibility, and the Republican political environment of the early 1980s.
As Mayor of Reno from 2002 to 2014, he was popular and closely identified with downtown revitalization and civic boosterism. Yet Cashell’s very strength became his limitation: he was viewed as deeply Reno-centric, never cultivating the Clark County power base—unions, casino strip donors, and Las Vegas voter blocs—required to win the governship statewide.
His peak influence came during his mayoral tenure, not during a window when a credible gubernatorial run aligned with opportunity. The result was a career of outsized regional influence but no serious path to the governor’s mansion.
Brian Sandoval: The Reno Republican Who Cracked the Code
Brian Sandoval is the model for how a Washoe-based candidate can win. A Reno lawyer and legislator, he began in the Nevada Assembly in 1994, quickly building credibility as a moderate Republican from Reno. His Washoe roots gave him a secure base in Northern Nevada. He built credibility by serving as Attorney General and as chair of the Nevada Gaming Commission. His appointment to the federal judgeship by President George W. Bush gave him prestige beyond local politics.
Sandoval ran for governor in 2010, when his opponent, Jim Gibbons, was embroiled in scandal. But the key wasn’t just circumstance — it was Sandoval’s centrist appeal and his ability to compete in Clark County because of his statewide experience.
Sandoval locked down Washoe, ran up the score in rurals, and — critically — neutralized the disadvantage in Clark County by presenting himself as a pragmatic, business-friendly problem solver. Sandoval wasn’t dismissed as a “Reno candidate.” He was seen as a Nevada candidate, equally at home in Carson City and Las Vegas.
Adam Laxalt: Grandson of a Governor
Adam Laxalt entered the 2018 governor’s race with one of the most recognizable names in Nevada politics as the grandson of former Governor Paul Laxalt and the Nevada Attorney General from 2015 to 2019. Still, his candidacy ultimately exposed the modern limits of a rural- and Northern Nevada–centric Republican strategy. Laxalt dominated the rural counties and performed solidly in Washoe. Still, he was outmatched in Clark County, where Democratic turnout, driven by unions and the Las Vegas political machine, proved decisive.
Closely aligned with Donald Trump and the national MAGA movement, Laxalt energized the conservative base but struggled with moderates and independents in the Clark County suburbs—voters who now decide statewide elections. He lost to Clark County Commissioner Steve Sisolak by a narrow margin.
This result underscored a new political reality: name recognition, rural dominance, and even the attorney general’s office are not enough to overcome Clark County without a broad cross-party appeal.
The Washoe Contenders
Hillary Schieve: “Sparkle Pony” Politics
There have been rumors that Schieve wants to run for higher office, possibly governor, but no announcement has been made so far. Schieve has won Reno’s mayoral races handily, but not by building her own infrastructure. Her success was engineered by Jessica Sferrazza’s machine — a web of union endorsements, developer money, and casino ties handed down from an earlier generation of Reno Democrats.
Locals call Schieve “Sparkle Pony,” a dig at her tendency to chase attention and lean into image-driven politics rather than policy results. While she parlayed her role into a national profile, serving as President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, she has no base in Clark County. Without Culinary Union support, casino donors, or southern Latino outreach, her Reno brand can’t scale statewide. She has no chance of winning.
Alexis Hill: “Trolley Hill” Dreams
Alexis Hill is openly running for governor in 2026 as a Democrat. Also a beneficiary of Sferrazza, her liabilities are glaring. Many in Washoe see her as ethically slippery, goofy in presentation, and prone to improbable ideas like building light rail with no funding source — earning the behind-the-scenes nickname “Trolley Hill.”
Her most significant problem isn’t image, though — it’s exposure. She has no presence in Clark County, no relationships with the Culinary Union, and no track record with southern business or political donors outside Washoe County. She has no statewide experience in public office. She has not been in the legislature. Even if she wins in Washoe, she has no support in Clark County. She has no chance of becoming governor, but maybe she is LARPing to get name recognition for something else.
A Northern Nevada Wildcard
Kate Marshall: Statewide Credentials
If Kate Marshall mounted a run for governor, she would enter the race as one of Northern Nevada’s most credentialed political figures, with a résumé that includes a term in the Nevada State Assembly in 2006, two terms as State Treasurer, 2007 - 2015. She has a reputation for fiscal competence and administrative steadiness.
Marshall’s strengths lie in her background in oversight and financial management. Marshall would face fewer of the structural challenges that have humbled Washoe-based candidates since she has held a state-level office. So far, Kate is running for Reno mayor and has not mentioned any further plans. Reno has enough issues, so maybe it’s a good fit for someone who likes a challenge.
In Conclusion
Running for governor in Nevada isn’t about who runs Reno or Washoe — it’s about who can win Clark County. Without Culinary Union support, casino donors, and a Las Vegas and statewide message, Reno and Washoe’s “pretenders” will discover that Washoe is too small a hill to reach the governor’s mansion. At this time, I would advise Northern Nevada politicians to forget about challenging Governor Lombardo.
Reader Comment: The population numbers make it difficult for anyone outside of Clark County to win a statewide election. Alexis is a terrible candidate anyway because of her property tax ideas which will hurt new or young homebuyers and because of the way she handled the motorcycle clubs toy drive. A real leader would have sat down privately and discussed the issue without affecting a toy drive and without offending all the rest of the motorcycle clubs involved instead of being immature and sensationalistic. Can't take her seriously after that behavior. She needs to grow up.