Aaron Ford, the 34th Attorney General of Nevada, has one of the most academically credentialed résumés of any sitting state attorney general. Before he was sworn in as Nevada’s first African American statewide constitutional officer in January 2019, Ford had earned five degrees — a bachelor’s, two master’s, a J.D., and a Ph.D. — clerked for federal judges at both the trial and appellate levels, made partner at Snell & Wilmer in Las Vegas, served three terms in the Nevada Senate including two as Senate Majority Leader, and worked as a high-school math teacher between his bachelor’s and his J.D. In January 2025 Ford filed for the 2026 Nevada gubernatorial race, putting him on a path to challenge Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo in November 2026.

Early life and the unusual education path

Aaron Darnell Ford was born May 24, 1972 in Dallas, Texas. He has spoken publicly about being raised by a single mother and being the first person in his family to graduate from college. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1994 — and rather than going directly to law school, taught high-school math for several years before returning to graduate study.

Ford then accumulated an unusual academic stack: a Master of Arts in international education from George Washington University, and an M.A., a J.D., and a Ph.D. from The Ohio State University — all earned at Ohio State. The combination of a J.D. and a Ph.D. from the same institution is rare among state attorneys general, and his educational arc — high-school math teacher, then five-degree academic, then federal clerk, then big-firm partner — is one of the more distinctive paths to a state AG’s office in the country.

Federal clerkships

After completing his J.D. at Ohio State, Ford served back-to-back federal clerkships. He clerked for Judge Denise Page Hood of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at the trial-court level, and then for Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit at the appellate level. The combination of trial- and appellate-court clerkships is itself notable; relatively few attorneys hold both.

Private practice: from Bracewell to Snell & Wilmer to Eglet Prince

Ford began his private-practice career at Bracewell LLP in Texas as an associate, then moved to Weil, Gotshal & Manges, one of the country’s leading commercial litigation firms. He relocated to Las Vegas to join Snell & Wilmer, where he was elevated to partner — making him one of the relatively small number of African American partners at major Nevada law firms at the time. Ford later moved to plaintiff-side practice at Eglet Prince (now Eglet Adams), a major Nevada plaintiff’s firm with a strong personal-injury and consumer-protection practice.

Nevada Senate, 2013–2018

Ford was appointed to the Nevada Senate in February 2013 to fill a vacancy in District 11, then won election to a full term and re-election in subsequent cycles. His leadership trajectory in the Senate was unusually rapid: Assistant Majority Whip in his first session in 2013, Senate Minority Leader in 2015–2016 when Democrats were in the minority, and Senate Majority Leader for the 2017–2018 session after Democrats regained the majority. He chaired the Committee on Natural Resources and served on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Notable legislative work during Ford’s Nevada Senate tenure included a 2015 statute requiring Nevada law enforcement to test rape kits within 120 days, and a 2017 drug-pricing-transparency law that became one of the country’s earliest state-level efforts to require pharmaceutical manufacturers to disclose pricing and price-increase justifications.

Election as Nevada Attorney General

Ford ran for Nevada Attorney General in 2018, won the Democratic primary, and defeated Republican Wesley Duncan by a 0.4% margin in the November general election — making him Nevada’s first African American statewide constitutional officer when he was sworn in on January 7, 2019. He was re-elected in 2022, defeating Republican Sigal Chattah with 52.3% of the vote.

Notable cases and AG portfolio

Opioid settlements

Ford’s office has secured more than $1.1 billion for Nevada across the various opioid manufacturer and distributor settlements that emerged from the multistate litigation of the late 2010s and early 2020s. The Nevada distribution model directs a substantial portion of settlement dollars to local governments and to treatment-and-prevention programs.

Multistate consumer protection and antitrust

Ford joined the multistate antitrust action against Google, the multistate action against Meta, and a series of consumer-protection enforcement matters under the Nevada Deceptive Trade Practices Act. His office has been particularly active on data-privacy and online-safety enforcement, areas Nevada has emphasized through its Secretary of State business-registration database and consumer-complaint intake.

Election integrity and abortion-rights litigation

Ford defended Nevada’s election administration against a series of post-2020 election-related challenges and joined multistate amicus efforts on the federal abortion-rights litigation following Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Ford also led Nevada’s response to a series of federal-policy challenges arising from the 2025 transition.

2026 gubernatorial campaign

Ford filed for the 2026 Nevada gubernatorial race in early 2025, setting up a challenge to Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, the former Clark County Sheriff who was elected in 2022. The general election is November 3, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What was Aaron Ford’s career before becoming Nevada AG?

Ford taught high school math, then earned a J.D. and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University, clerked for Judge Denise Page Hood (E.D. Michigan) and Judge Johnnie B. Rawlinson (Ninth Circuit), and practiced law at Bracewell, Weil Gotshal & Manges, and Snell & Wilmer (where he made partner) before plaintiff-side work at Eglet Prince. He served in the Nevada Senate from 2013 to 2018, including two sessions as Senate Majority Leader.

Is Aaron Ford the first Black attorney general of Nevada?

Yes. Ford was Nevada’s first African American statewide constitutional officer when he was sworn in as Attorney General on January 7, 2019. Nevada had not previously elected an African American to any of its statewide constitutional offices.

How many degrees does Aaron Ford have?

Five. A B.S. from Texas A&M University, an M.A. in international education from George Washington University, and three additional degrees from The Ohio State University: an M.A., a Juris Doctor, and a Ph.D. The combination of a J.D. and a Ph.D. from the same institution is unusual among state attorneys general.

Is Aaron Ford running for governor in 2026?

Yes. Ford filed for the 2026 Nevada gubernatorial race in early 2025, challenging Republican incumbent Joe Lombardo. The general election is November 3, 2026.

What was Ford’s role as Nevada Senate Majority Leader?

Ford served as Senate Majority Leader during the 2017–2018 session, leading the Democratic majority’s legislative agenda. Notable legislation during his leadership included Nevada’s drug-pricing-transparency law and the rape-kit-testing-deadline statute. He had previously served as Minority Leader in 2015–2016 when Democrats were in the minority.

Sources

This profile is part of TheCompleteLawyer.com’s series on the U.S. state attorneys general. Profiles are intended as a neutral biographical resource focused on professional and legal career; they are not endorsements and do not represent the views of TheCompleteLawyer.com.