Nevada Democrat gubernatorial nominee (and the state’s current Attorney General) Aaron Ford has gone to great lengths to position himself as “bipartisan,” rejecting any characterization of his policies as progressive or socialist, but a new analysis of his campaign platform reveals that his policy agenda shares significant similarities with proposals from Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Zohran Mamdani, and other Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) politicians.
Ford has worked to cultivate a bipartisan image during the campaign. At a campaign event in Reno last year, he promised voters he would be a “bipartisan governor,” pointing to lawsuits he filed against both the Trump and Biden administrations. During a later swing through rural Nevada, Ford described himself as a “bipartisan problem-solver” who has worked with Republicans and Democrats throughout his political career.
Ford has sought to distance himself from the DSA, saying the organization "is not the face of our party," which is understandable in a state like Nevada where the most recent evidence shows that agenda isn't at all popular. In June, Las Vegas DSA member Valerie Thomason challenged Democrat Assemblywoman Venicia Considine from the left in a safe Democrat district, campaigning on policies including rent caps, universal childcare and a state corporate income tax. Democratic primary voters rejected Thomason by a 63-37 margin.
The DSA might not be the face of the party (in Ford's estimation), but according to a policy analysis prepared by Lombardo's campaign and reviewed by RedState, their policies are awfully close to Ford's.
The report compared 77 policy lines from Ford's housing, healthcare, energy, education, and economic-development platforms with proposals advanced by DSA candidates and officeholders and found nearly half of them were either direct analogues or materially similar to the policies put forward by the DSA candidates, and approximately 75 percent shared some similarities.
Some of the strongest similarities identified in the analysis involve organized labor.
Ford wants to repeal Nevada's right-to-work law, which he derisively calls "right to work for less," the exact terminology Sanders uses, and says he'll sign a repeal if the Legislature sends him one. He also wants expanded collective bargaining for public employees, supports project labor agreements and prevailing-wage requirements, using union labor only for major green energy projects, and expanded registered apprenticeships. His clean-energy manufacturing proposal materially similar to Sanders' Green New Deal industrial policy, while his utility-scale solar agenda resembles public-renewables policies backed by Sanders and Mamdani.
There's more overlap between Ford and DSA leaders in their education policies: universal school breakfast and lunch, expanded pre-K, higher education spending, union apprenticeship programs, student-loan refinancing and collective bargaining for graduate student workers. The report compares Ford's universal school-meals proposal directly with Sanders' plan and finds his higher-education and labor proposals materially similar to Sanders' agenda.
The report found that for 19 of Ford's policy lines "no comparable proposal [was] located in the comparison set’s platforms and records as of the research date," but notes that is "not proof of absence."
Lombardo's campaign said the findings aren't surprising.
"Aaron Ford has aligned himself with left-wing activists like Ben Crump, Al Sharpton, Kamala Harris and Gavin Newsom, it’s no surprise his policy positions are aligned with prominent Democratic Socialist figures and ideas," Lombardo spokeswoman Halee Dobbins told RedState.
"Ford has proudly embraced Newsom’s endorsement and put forward an $18 billion plan that would dramatically expand government spending and raise taxes on hardworking families. Nevadans don’t want California-style politics or Democratic Socialist policies brought to our state. Governor Lombardo is fighting to keep California policies out of Nevada and protect our way of life."
Editor's Note: The Democrat Party has been infected by socialism, and it's spreading FAST. Democrats are claiming there's nothing to worry about, but we know the truth.
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