Ad Accuses Steve Sisolak of Lying About Joe Lombardo’s Abortion Stance

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo’s campaign for governor released a political ad on Monday following a debate against incumbent Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), accusing him of lying about Lombardo’s position on abortion.

The ad, entitled “What Kind of Man” began airing the same day and lists several claims Sisolak has made about how Lombardo would handle the issue of abortion if elected governor. The ad states:

What kind of a man lies to women? This one. Steve Sisolak is lying to us about abortion. Opposed to contraceptives, no exceptions for rape or incest, abortion ban — Joe Lombardo doesn’t support any of those things. Sisolak is a desperate man trying to hold on to power. Our schools are unsafe, police are under attack, and families are struggling. What kind of a man covers up his failures with lies? This one.

WATCH: 

Sisolak, like many other vulnerable Democrats, has made abortion central to his campaign after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. The embattled governor often claims Lombardo would not “hesitate to implement abortion bans and restrictions in Nevada,” despite the fact that Nevadans voted to codify the “right to abortion” up to 24 weeks in 1990. The law can only be overturned by Nevadans, not the state legislature or governor.

“It’s unfortunate the governor doesn’t have enough respect for the voters to realize that it’s codified in law,” Lombardo said during the debate. “There’s nothing that the governor can do to change it.”

Lombardo clarified the parameters of his pro-life stance to debate moderator Jon Ralston, noting that he supports parental notification with exceptions for rape and incest, as well as contraceptive access. He also said he would favor mandatory waiting periods but does not support mandatory ultrasounds. He said he would support Nevadans if they wanted to vote to limit the ability to procure an abortion at more than 24 weeks.

“My personal belief is pro-life. That’s what I believe internally,” he said. “It’s a vote of the people. And if the people want to change it, I will support that.”

The Lombardo campaign has previously slammed Sisolak for “center[ing] his campaign around single-issue scare tactics.”

Lombardo spokeswoman Elizabeth Ray said in a statement after Sisolak held an abortion round table:

Let’s be clear: abortion is settled law in Nevada – only the voters can change it and Steve Sisolak knows that. It’s time Steve Sisolak talked about what he is responsible for: Nevada is 3,000 teachers short, 4,000 nurses short, and 95,000 small businesses have been forced to close their doors for good. The Nevada Highway Patrol is 50 percent vacant, a third of Nevada corrections positions are open, and government agencies won’t answer the phone. Steve Sisolak can’t be bothered to do his job, so he’d rather sit and fear-monger for votes.

Sisolak often tweets about abortion as “reproductive freedoms” and criticizes Lombardo for believing that unborn babies are human lives deserving of protection. The Democrat governor has also called crisis pregnancy centers “predatory and misleading,” even in the aftermath of more than 100 attacks against pro-life groups nationwide since the beginning of May, and said Lombardo is a “threat” to the “right to an abortion.”

Despite Sisolak’s fixation on abortion, Nevadans have repeatedly ranked the economy as the top issue of concern, far out-outweighing abortion by double digits.