Aaron Ford edges out Wes Duncan to win attorney general race

Nevada’s next attorney general will be state Senate Democratic Leader Aaron Ford.

Around 2:40 a.m. Wednesday, challenger Wes Duncan conceded and tweeted congratulations to Ford for his “hard fought win. The @NevadaAG is a wonderful office with wonderful people - lead them well!”

With 16 of 17 counties fully reported Wednesday morning, Ford had received 453,290 votes (47.2 percent), while Duncan had received 449,030 votes (46.8 percent).

Duncan, 37, served one term in the Nevada Assembly before he was tapped to be the first deputy attorney general under Adam Laxalt in 2015. He left his position with the office in September 2017 and joined the Las Vegas law firm of Hutchison & Steffen.

Ford, 46, is a former teacher who became a lawyer and now serves as the state Senate Majority Leader. He was was first elected in 2012 to his senate seat and re-elected in 2016.

The race quickly turned into the one of the most bitter of the Nevada elections this year, with both sides lobbing barb after barb at one another on airwaves across the state.

Duncan’s campaign attacked Ford’s character, citing news stories about Ford being arrested for minor offenses during his early 20s and for having four years worth of tax liens for not fully paying his federal taxes. Ford has since paid his taxes in full.

Ford’s campaign went after Duncan for seeking the endorsement of and campaigning with embattled Storey County Sheriff Gerald Antinoro, who in recent years has been accused of sexual assault and sexual harassment. Duncan eventually disavowed the Antinoro endorsement.

Both campaigns raised and spent more than $2 million during the campaign cycle

Current Attorney General Adam Laxalt chose not to run for a second term so he could run for governor.

Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.