button in SafariCandidate Who Could Influence Nevada Governor Race Has Strong Poker Roots
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When Danielle Ford reflects on her journey through Nevada politics, from winning a state education board election to her near-futile gamble of running Nevada governor as an independent candidate, she says it all traces back to poker.
Ford, a member of the Nevada State Board of Education who is running for governor against incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, and Democratic challenger Aaron Ford (no relation), is a longtime poker player who correlates her poker mindset and community connections with her professional journey.
"It's just really funny when I look back at all the people that have been there to help me get to the next step in my life have in some way been connected to the poker community," Ford told PokerNews in an interview earlier this month about her poker background and run for Nevada's highest office.
Though she's unlikely to be elected next week, Ford's small campaign is getting attention. The independent candidate was thrust into the national spotlight this week amid accusations that her campaign could confuse voters and siphon votes from her Democratic opponent with the same surname, which could push the Republican incumbent over the finish line in the toss-up race.
Chip and a Chair
Ford, whose campaign website states she is running "to bring practical systems repair to the public systems Nevada families rely on every day," started playing poker in 2011 and studied it seriously for a year while teaching herself marketing on YouTube. "I read all the books," Ford said.
Ford eventually made her way to the World Series of Poker (WSOP), where she met Daniel Makowsky of the poker website PokerAti, who took Ford on as a writer. She'd also connect with Sillybandz founder Robert Croak, who hired Ford to make videos for the serial entrepreneur's latest business venture. Ford said both gigs gave her skills that were invaluable in her successful runs for the Clark County School District Board of Trustees in 2018 and Nevada State Board of Education in 2024.
Later, when she decided to run for Nevada's highest office as an independent, it was at the Charity Series of Poker (CSOP) — where she'd eventually make a final table — that she'd meet her campaign staff.
For Ford, the connection between poker and independent politics is clear.
"The type of person who would take a calculated risk on running for a nonpartisan seat in a very well-funded, deeply politically connected election," she said, "would be somebody who is like a poker player."
Running unaffiliated is indeed a risk. Most polls in the governor race don't even include Ford, who qualified for the ballot by gathering signatures, and show the race as a toss-up between the Republican and Democratic candidates.
Ford acknowledged that it's "nearly impossible" to win the governor race as an independent candidate "unless you really look at the numbers and you see it like a poker game and you think 'it's risky but it's doable.'"
"You can be against the best players (with the best chance of winning), and it doesn't matter, you just have to play better than them," she said. "Chip and a chair."
But Ford's run as an independent has also sparked controversy. On Oct. 20, the Nevada Independent reported that a mailer calling Ford the "AOC of Nevada," a reference to progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, appears to have ties to Republican political operatives and could be an attempt to confuse voters (Ocasio-Cortez has endorsed Democrat Aaron Ford, not Danielle Ford, in the race).
A handful of national media figures have weighed in on the campaign, including political journalists David Weigel and Sam Stein.
When reached for comment, Ford directed PokerNews to a Facebook video posted on Oct. 25 where she denied any affiliation with the mailers and accused both parties of spreading falsehoods about her campaign. Ford also told PokerNews she is planning on releasing a statement about the controversy.
"First the Democrats told you that I'm a spoiler candidate and that ... people are going to accidentally vote for me ... and now they're telling you that I'm actually part of this GOP organization crime syndicate to try and get the election back (for Republicans)," Ford said in the video.
"So I've got the Democrats telling their members that I'm a MAGA operative and then I've got Republicans sending mailers (saying) that I'm an AOC operative."
Poker in All Classrooms
Poker isn't just Ford's weekend activity, it's part of her political platform. The state education board member and holistic education advocate told PokerNews she believes poker should be taught in "every single classroom, without the gambling aspect, of course."
"I've said that a million times," said Ford, who noted that she taught her own children math using poker. "I absolutely (support poker in schools). It's not gambling unless you're betting money. It's a skill game. I think it's more complex than chess, especially because there's so many human elements to it and there's so many different conditions that can happen."
But Ford said Nevadans are drawing dead when it comes to getting poker in schools due to the state's standardized curriculum and "because we are inundated by these by these testing companies."
"I absolutely (support that). It's not gambling unless you're betting money. It's a skill game."
Ford also has thoughts on federal issues impacting Nevadans, including a controversial gambling tax change capping gambling loss deductions at 90% of winnings. "I don't think there's a single person that thinks that's fair," she said, noting that poker players and other gamblers "often have entire losing years."
"Not everybody playing poker is just doing it a couple weekends a year in Vegas. Some people's livelihoods depend on this, and they're taking care of their entire families. So I definitely don't appreciate the federal administration just on a whim throwing something into a giant bill that affects the families in Nevada like this."
Ford is unlikely to be elected as Nevada's next governor. But as long as her name is on the ballot, she has a chip and a chair.
Nevada's gubernatorial election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
*Photos courtesy of Charity Series of Poker (CSOP)
