Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s gubernatorial campaign has built a volunteer influencer program called “Creators for Aaron,” enlisting content creators with follower counts ranging from the low thousands to the millions to document campaign events and interview the candidate directly, according to a report from The Nevada Independent.
Fifteen Nevada governor’s race videos reviewed by the outlet had combined for 30,000 likes across Instagram and TikTok. The six accounts behind them carry more than 24 million followers between the two platforms. None of the participating creators are paid, according to both the Ford campaign and the influencers themselves, though they receive advance notice of events and access that traditional press often does not, including one-on-one interviews with Ford at events where he has not held press gaggles.
At an October 2 campaign stop in the Las Vegas Arts District, at least half a dozen phones belonging to Creators for Aaron participants tracked Ford as he visited a pizza shop and poured beers at a brewery, while credentialed press was denied access to him for questions. Ford campaign spokesperson Prerna Jagadeesh said the creator outreach supplements, rather than replaces, traditional media engagement, noting Ford has given more than 100 interviews to reporters since launching his campaign.
The approach puts Ford ahead of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on volume, though Lombardo’s campaign has built its own creator outreach, concentrated on Hispanic voters through a “Latinos con Lombardo” effort that has drawn support from creators including a Selena impersonator with more than 137,000 followers. Lombardo’s campaign said it has no paid influencer partnerships. Both campaigns launched TikTok accounts in March.
An Unpaid Model in a Tightening Regulatory Environment
Ford’s reliance on unpaid creators comes as paid political influencer arrangements face growing scrutiny elsewhere. Sen. Ed Markey’s reelection campaign has paid influencers through firms including Aisle 518 Strategies and Four Lions Media in his Massachusetts primary against Rep. Seth Moulton, labeling sponsored posts accordingly. California’s Fair Political Practices Commission closed an investigation into Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign last month without fines after several influencers initially failed to disclose paid posts, a case that helped prompt Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a disclosure law, AB 1130, on Sept. 19.
At the federal level, Rep. Mark Takano’s PAID Act would require political committees to notify creators of disclosure obligations at the time of payment, with FEC rules due by January 2027 if it becomes law. Nevada’s existing disclosure statute, which covers political advertising spending more than $100, does not specify whether it applies to social media accounts, and federal law currently does not require creators to disclose campaign payments.
A Media Insight Project survey cited in the Nevada Independent report found 57% of respondents said they received news often or sometimes from independent creators or influencers, while a YouGov poll of Nevada voters aged 18 to 29 found at least 50% had gotten news from TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube in the prior week, compared with 21% from news websites or apps.
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford’s gubernatorial campaign has built a volunteer influencer program called “Creators for Aaron,” enlisting content creators with follower counts ranging from the low thousands to the millions to document campaign events and interview the candidate directly, according to a report from The Nevada Independent.
Fifteen Nevada governor’s race videos reviewed by the outlet had combined for 30,000 likes across Instagram and TikTok. The six accounts behind them carry more than 24 million followers between the two platforms. None of the participating creators are paid, according to both the Ford campaign and the influencers themselves, though they receive advance notice of events and access that traditional press often does not, including one-on-one interviews with Ford at events where he has not held press gaggles.
At an October 2 campaign stop in the Las Vegas Arts District, at least half a dozen phones belonging to Creators for Aaron participants tracked Ford as he visited a pizza shop and poured beers at a brewery, while credentialed press was denied access to him for questions. Ford campaign spokesperson Prerna Jagadeesh said the creator outreach supplements, rather than replaces, traditional media engagement, noting Ford has given more than 100 interviews to reporters since launching his campaign.
The approach puts Ford ahead of Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo on volume, though Lombardo’s campaign has built its own creator outreach, concentrated on Hispanic voters through a “Latinos con Lombardo” effort that has drawn support from creators including a Selena impersonator with more than 137,000 followers. Lombardo’s campaign said it has no paid influencer partnerships. Both campaigns launched TikTok accounts in March.
An Unpaid Model in a Tightening Regulatory Environment
Ford’s reliance on unpaid creators comes as paid political influencer arrangements face growing scrutiny elsewhere. Sen. Ed Markey’s reelection campaign has paid influencers through firms including Aisle 518 Strategies and Four Lions Media in his Massachusetts primary against Rep. Seth Moulton, labeling sponsored posts accordingly. California’s Fair Political Practices Commission closed an investigation into Tom Steyer’s gubernatorial campaign last month without fines after several influencers initially failed to disclose paid posts, a case that helped prompt Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a disclosure law, AB 1130, on Sept. 19.
At the federal level, Rep. Mark Takano’s PAID Act would require political committees to notify creators of disclosure obligations at the time of payment, with FEC rules due by January 2027 if it becomes law. Nevada’s existing disclosure statute, which covers political advertising spending more than $100, does not specify whether it applies to social media accounts, and federal law currently does not require creators to disclose campaign payments.
A Media Insight Project survey cited in the Nevada Independent report found 57% of respondents said they received news often or sometimes from independent creators or influencers, while a YouGov poll of Nevada voters aged 18 to 29 found at least 50% had gotten news from TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube in the prior week, compared with 21% from news websites or apps.
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