Danielle Ford, a member of the Nevada State Board of Education, is running for governor as an independent candidate against Republican incumbent Gov. Joe Lombardo and Democratic challenger Aaron Ford, who is no relation. She told PokerNews in an interview that her poker background shaped her political path.
Ford said she started playing poker in 2011. She met Daniel Makowsky of PokerAti at the World Series of Poker, and he hired her as a writer. She also connected with Sillybandz founder Robert Croak, who hired her to make videos. Ford said both jobs gave her skills she used in her successful runs for the Clark County School District Board of Trustees in 2018 and the Nevada State Board of Education in 2024. She met her campaign staff at the Charity Series of Poker, where she made a final table.
"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," Ford said, "would be somebody who is like a poker player."
Ford acknowledged that it is "nearly impossible" to win as an independent. Most polls in the race do not include her, and they show a toss-up between the Republican and Democratic candidates. Ford qualified for the