The Daily Rundown - June 10, 2026
🗳️ The stage is set for what could be one of the most closely watched gubernatorial elections in the country, according to reporting by KNPR’s Paul Boger. According to a race call by The Associated Press, Democratic voters in Nevada have selected two-time Nevada attorney general Aaron Ford as their party’s nominee to challenge incumbent Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.
Ford, who was elected as the state’s AG in 2018, defeated five other Democrats to claim the nomination. He focused his primary campaign on Lombardo, pointing to the rising cost of groceries, gas, housing and health care as failures of the one-term governor.
He’s also done everything he can to tie Lombardo to President Trump, who endorsed Lombardo and has seen his popularity decline since winning the state by 3 points two years ago. That’s setting up a tough race for Lombardo. The Cook Political Report, which tracks elections, rates the race a toss-up.
Lombardo faced six primary challengers of his own but sailed to victory Tuesday night. That was thanks in part to his relative success in the state Legislature, despite Democratic majorities in both chambers. Among his top accomplishments are a bipartisan bill that sought to hold school districts more accountable, tightening criminal justice reforms enacted after George Floyd’s killing in 2020, and efforts to make housing more attainable. He also helped secure a public financing deal for a new stadium for Major League Baseball’s Athletics, formerly of Oakland.
The governor has secured a sizeable war chest heading into the general election, but money alone isn’t enough to carry an election in the Silver State. Messaging and voter contact matter, and that’s where Ford may have an advantage.
The state’s powerful Culinary Union, which represents hospitality workers across Nevada, officially endorsed Ford last month. The union, which claims as many as 60,000 members in Nevada alone, has become a voter turnout machine. It has integrated polling sites into casinos and resorts dedicated to hospitality workers.
🎢 Las Vegas-based Terrible’s has signed an agreement with the Primm family to take over operations at the hotel-casino and related properties on the Nevada-California border. The Primm family has owned the hotel-casino and land since the 1950s. This agreement comes before the town’s previously planned closing on July 4.
Terrible’s, owned by the Herbst family, still needs approval for a gaming license before the deal can move forward. Officials told The Nevada Independent a special hearing is expected to take place June 25 to consider the application. The Herbst family holds numerous gaming licenses across the state. Hear KNPR’s Mike Prevatt discuss the rollercoaster history of the stateline town here.
⭕ Retired Air Force Lt. Col. David Flippo has won the Republican primary in Nevada’s 2nd Congressional District after securing President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the closing weeks of the campaign. The race, which was called Wednesday, put Trump opposite Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo and retiring Rep. Mark Amodei, who both backed former state Sen. James Settelmeyer. Amodei announced he was retiring after 15 years, opening up a competitive primary for Nevada’s only Republican-held House seat.
Democrats had hoped for a Flippo victory, thinking it would make it easier for them to win over less-partisan voters in November. They nominated the chief of staff to state Attorney General Aaron Ford, former majority floor leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson. Flippo thanked Nevadans on X late Tuesday night and said he will join President Donald Trump to “fight for the hard-working men and women” in Nevada.
“I will never let you down!” he said on X. The 2nd District race is one of several Nevada contests that will be watched closely this year. In southern Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Susie Lee will face Marty O’Donnell, a composer known for writing the soundtrack to the video game “Halo.”
Trump won the district in 2024 and backed O’Donnell, who thanked Trump in his victory statement. Read the full story and more here.
⚾ The Vegas Golden Knights lost their second home game of the Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes last night, June 9. The series is now tied 2–2 as the teams head back to North Carolina for Game 5. Puck drop is tomorrow evening at 5:00. Not all Las Vegas home games were lost yesterday, though. The Athletics’ 7–5 victory over the Brewers came with five home runs. That’s in addition to seven runs scored in Monday’s game. The Athletics haven’t hit 12 home runs in a two-game span since June 1996.
⛽ Soaring gasoline prices, triggered by the U.S. war with Iran, have pushed inflation to its highest level in more than three years, according to a report.
A report from the Labor Department on Wednesday showed consumer prices in May were up 4.2% from a year ago. That’s the biggest annual increase since April 2023. By contrast, the Labor Department says average wages have risen only 3.4% over the last year, so workers’ real spending power has declined.
Prices rose 0.5% between April and May, with higher energy costs accounting for more than 60% of that monthly increase. Gas prices have jumped by well over a dollar a gallon since the war began, stranding shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — a critical pathway for much of the world’s oil supply.
Higher fuel costs also pushed up airfares in May. Airline tickets cost about 27% more than they did a year ago.
Grocery prices showed little change during the month, rising just 0.1%. Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, “core inflation” was 2.9% for the 12 months ending in May, a slightly larger annual increase than the previous month. Read the full story by NPR's Scott Horsley here.
Part of these stories are taken from KNPR's daily newscast segment. To hear more daily updates like these, tune in to 88.9 KNPR FM.
