Clerks complete recount of Nevada Republican governor's race
RENO, Nev. (AP) — County election officials wrapped up a two-day statewide recount of ballots in the Nevada GOP primary for governor Friday and the outcome did not appear to change in the state's two most populous counties, showing second-place finisher Joey Gilbert losing to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo in a crowded field.
The Nevada secretary of state's office confirmed Friday afternoon that all 17 counties had finished their recounts. Though officials did not post or comment on the unofficial results, Clark and Washoe counties confirmed that Lombardo had beaten Gilbert, who paid for the recount despite trailing Lombardo by 11 percentage points following the June 14 vote.
Clark and Washoe counties account for 75% of the ballots cast in the Nevada Republican primary for governor.
Gilbert, who was outside the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 insurrection, ran on a platform partially shaped by baseless claims of election fraud and has alleged that election workers did not properly verify signatures or monitor ballots and that votes for Lombardo were “injected” into the system. He has not provided any evidence for those claims.
He has said he did not expect the results to change much but sought the recount to later challenge the election results in court. He has the help of right-wing activist and crypto-businessman Robert Beadles, who unsuccessfully sued Nevada and state’s second most populous county seeking heightened observation of elections in the county.
“All they’re doing is using the same fixed and cooked ballots, putting them through the same, broken machines,” Gilbert said in a video filmed Thursday outside the Clark County elections department. “So, do I expect much to come from this? No. But it’s part of the process.”
The June 14 contest in Nevada proved...