FACT CHECK: Lombardo Ad Full Of Lies Debunked Over A Month Ago

Jon Ralston: “Now my staff fact checked that and they found that it seemed like that wasn't quite right. I did a little more digging into it and I think it's even more inflated than they thought it was.”

With Joe Lombardo panicking as he slips in the polls, his campaign cut a new ad based on lies to hide behind instead of leaving his basement to answer voters’ questions. In a fact-check, the Nevada Independent debunked the Lombardo campaign’s sham, AI-generated report that completely falsifies the cost of General Ford’s agenda, finding that “the $18 billion price tag is based almost entirely on assumptions that place seven-to-10 figure price tags on vague or rhetorical Ford policies and include costs that would actually save Nevadans money.” Nevada Independent CEO Jon Ralston went even further saying, “Now my staff fact checked that and they found that it seemed like that wasn't quite right. I did a little more digging into it and I think it's even more inflated than they thought it was.”

“Lying Lombardo has sunk to a new low releasing a new ad, paid for by Trump’s ‘billionaire friends,’ full of already debunked lies. Lombardo would rather lie to voters than actually address the Lombardo-Trump cost-of-living-crisis that Nevadans are suffering, because he has no answer other than ‘I can’t control that’, said Prerna Jagadeesh, spokesperson for Ford for Governor. “While Lombardo hides behind these desperate lies and dodges debates, Aaron Ford is hosting town halls across Nevada addressing voters’ real concerns and taking their questions.”

This isn’t the first time Lombardo’s campaign has stooped to desperate lows. His campaign has also launched debunked attack ads, paid workers to lie about Ford’s record, lied about campaign support, and used taxpayer dollars to attack political opponents.

But a closer look at the underlying numbers shows that the $18 billion price tag is based almost entirely on assumptions that place seven-to-10 figure price tags on vague or rhetorical Ford policies and include costs that would actually save Nevadans money.

Most of the alleged new spending — more than $9.9 billion — is for costs borne by businesses or the federal government and thus not related to state revenues. And the proposal the report says is most expensive — canceling medical debt — was based on a significant misunderstanding of the process, a Stanford economist told The Indy.

Our analysis also found that the Lombardo campaign believes Ford's proposal to fight the Trump administration's tariffs — if successful — could save hundreds of millions of dollars for Nevada homebuyers. The governor's campaign has not previously admitted this.

While the campaign implies that all of the alleged costs would directly translate into higher costs for households, many of the supposed incurred costs would be placed on the federal government, which can operate at a deficit, or on businesses that do not necessarily increase costs for households. The report also found that many of the proposals would benefit Nevada households.

Asked whether the report is an acknowledgement that tariffs have had this effect on homebuyers, Lombardo's campaign did not provide a direct answer.

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