When looking at the Nevada Governor’s race, everyone is talking about Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo and Democratic challenger Attorney General Aaron Ford.
There is a third candidate on the ballot.
Danielle Ford is running as a nonpartisan, and she believes now is as good a time as any for a nonpartisan to win the governor’s race.
Danielle Ford
"I was born and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada,” she said. “I have two kids that have gone through the school system here. I went through the school system myself."
Ford is a single mother who has an educational background. She was elected to be a member of the Nevada State Board of Education and is a former Clark County School District Trustee.
So, naturally, education is a big part of her platform.
"The biggest thing that I learned is that education is connected to everything else, and if you solve education, I truly believe if you fix education, you fix everything else,” she said.
Her main issues include affordability, healthcare, getting rid of the two-party system, safer communities, and holding the government accountable.
“Those six things, I believe that if we focus on those, we improve Nevada immensely,” she said.
Ford says she decided to run for governor instead of a legislative position due to what she was seeing.
"Some of the things that I've seen in education, I realize that all the power has been consolidated to the governor's office,” Ford said.
She also says that now is the time for a nonpartisan candidate to make a real push.
"Additionally, you know, nonpartisan is are the largest voting block,” Ford said. “So, if you start to look at the probability of a nonpartisan getting elected and when that might be, I think right now is that time.”
Since she shares the same last name as Democratic nominee Aaron Ford, we asked if she thought voters might confuse the two.
"I think that's kind of silly to think that people can't tell the difference between a whole name,” she said.
Being born and raised down south, Ford says she’s trying to learn more about what folks are dealing with up north.
“I definitely need to learn more about that,” she said. “I do as much following and research as I can without physically being there."
However, she still thinks she’s the best candidate, particularly when it comes to education.
“I believe in protecting public education and my personal belief that both my opponents do not,” she said. “One of my opponents is very pro voucher, and the other one is very pro charter school.”
Millions have been spent by both the Republican and Democratic candidates, and that number skyrockets if you include political action committee spending.
So far this year, Ford has raised $2,600.
To learn more about Ford’s platform, click here.
Early voting ends on Friday at 6 p.m., and Election Day is next Tuesday,
