Brian Sandoval

Brian Edward Sandoval (born August 5, 1963) is an American politician, academic administrator, and former federal judge who served as the 29th Governor of Nevada from 2011 to 2019.

Sandoval attended Reno's Little Flower School and graduated from Bishop Manogue High School in Reno in 1981; he attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and economics in 1986.

He then went on to earn a Juris Doctor from the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1989.

Sandoval passed the Nevada and California bar exams and entered private practice with several Reno law firms.

A graduate of the University of Nevada, Reno, Sandoval began his political career in the early 1990s.

When incumbent Republican Jim Gibbons decided to retire to run for Governor of Nevada in 1994, Sandoval ran for the Reno-based 25th District of the Nevada Assembly.

He won the open seat and won re-election in 1996.

In 1998 he was appointed to be a member of the Nevada Gaming Commission and later served as the commission's chairman from 1999 to 2001.

After he resigned from his seat in 1998, Gibbons' wife Dawn won the open seat.

Sandoval sponsored 14 bills that became law—including some that prevented felons from suing victims if they are injured committing a crime, increased the penalties for operating a boat under the influence, and allowed indigent defendants to perform community service to defray their legal costs.

Sandoval served on the Judiciary, Taxation and Natural Resources Committees.

He also served on the Wisconsin Legislative Commission, the Advisory Commission on Sentencing, the Juvenile Justice Commission, the Advisory Council on Community Notification of Sex Offenders, and the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Oversight Committee.

In 1998, Sandoval was appointed to serve as a member of the Gaming Commission of Nevada, which oversees the state's gaming industry.

The following year, at the age of 35, Sandoval became the youngest person ever to serve as chairman of the gaming commission.

During his time on the commission, Sandoval fought national efforts to block gambling on college sports events, worked on regulations limiting neighborhood gaming and worked for regulations prohibiting slot machines with themes attractive to children.

In 1999, he opened his own law firm in Reno.

Sandoval announced his bid on October 11, 2001, to succeed three-term Democrat Frankie Sue Del Papa who was not eligible to run for re–election as Attorney General of Nevada due to lifetime term limits established by the Nevada Constitution in 1996.

His primary major party opposition was Democratic attorney John Hunt from Las Vegas, whom Sandoval defeated by a margin of 58.32% to 33.63% on November 5, 2002.

A Republican, Sandoval ran and won the position of Nevada Attorney General and served from 2003 until 2005, when President George W. Bush nominated Sandoval to serve as judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada.

Sandoval took office on January 6, 2003.

While Attorney General, Sandoval led the state's legal fight against the storage of nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, developed Nevada's first Public Integrity Unit and sponsored legislation strengthening Nevada's laws against domestic violence, drug abuse and human trafficking.

As attorney general, Sandoval was also the chairman and a member of several state boards and commissions, including the Nevada Boards of Pardons, Prisons, Transportation, and Examiners; the Cyber-Crime Task Force; the Committee on Domestic Violence, and the Prosecutorial Advisory Council.

In the fall of 2004, Democratic Senator Harry Reid spoke with Sandoval about whether he was interested in serving as a judge for the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, and that December, Reid recommended to President George W. Bush that he nominate Sandoval to a future opening on that court.

Sandoval was formally nominated by Bush on March 1, 2005, to the seat being vacated by Judge Howard D. McKibben.

On September 29, 2005, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a confirmation hearing on Sandoval's nomination.

On October 20, 2005, the Judiciary committee reported Sandoval's nomination out of committee on a voice vote.

Sandoval was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on October 24, 2005 by an 89–0 vote (with 11 Senators not voting).

Sandoval received his judicial commission on October 26, 2005.

Sandoval announced his resignation as Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Nevada on August 15, 2009, to become effective beginning September 15, 2009.

On the same day as his resignation became official, Sandoval announced he was running for the Governorship.

Sandoval's chambers were in the Bruce R. Thompson Courthouse and Federal Building in Reno.

Sandoval ran for governor in 2010.

He defeated incumbent governor Jim Gibbons for the Republican nomination and later defeated Democratic nominee Rory Reid in the general election.

He was re-elected in 2014, defeating Democrat Bob Goodman in the state's largest electoral landslide.

Sandoval was barred by term limits from running for a third term in 2018.

He was succeeded by Democrat Steve Sisolak.

Since October 2020, Sandoval has served as the 17th president of the University of Nevada, Reno.

Sandoval was born in Redding, California, to Ron Sandoval (an FAA maintenance supervisor) and his wife Gloria (Gallegos) Sandoval (a legal secretary).

A long-time resident of Reno, Sandoval is of Hispanic ancestry.