Nevada Campaign Finance Reports Reveal Fundraising Battles Ahead

State campaign finance reports released by Monday’s deadline showed a tight fundraising battle across the races most likely to determine whether Nevada Democrats can secure a legislative supermajority.

Across ten contested legislative races throughout the second quarter, Democratic and Republican candidates each led the fundraising race in five. Meanwhile, PACs affiliated with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo continued to pour money into the coffers of prominent GOP candidates, and those supporting ballot questions on ranked-choice voting, abortion rights, and voter ID donated millions of dollars to the PACs behind the initiatives.

The latest campaign finance reports offer the penultimate look at fundraising data for Nevada political candidates and committees ahead of the general election, covering April through June. It also provides more insight into the head-to-head fundraising data for key legislative races after last month’s primaries winnowed each race to one Democrat and one Republican.

Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 28 seats—a supermajority—in the 42-member Assembly. The outcome of a few races could change whether Lombardo’s ability to veto bills stands or is overridden by a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber.

In total, more than $2.3 million in donations came to the candidates running in the ten most competitive legislative races, identified by district partisanship, as groups poured more than $10 million into organizations either supporting or opposing the various ballot initiatives and bolstered by a $5.75 million haul by a group supporting the ballot question on ranked-choice voting and open primaries and $1.4 million raised by a Lombardo-affiliated PAC supporting the voter ID initiative.

Across the ten most competitive legislative races, six of the candidates who raised more money in the second quarter are of the opposite party than the seat is currently held by Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas) with $171,000 in Senate District 11, about $60,000 more than her GOP challenger, Lori Rogich. Harris also has about $370,000 in cash, roughly $10,000 more than Rogich.

Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) raised about $104,000 in Assembly District 21, $10,000 more than her GOP challenger, April Arndt. However, Marzola has a significant lead in cash on hand with about $278,000 compared to Arndt’s $58,000.

Republican Diana Sande raised about $175,000—the second-most among all key candidates—much higher than Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno), who raised $60,000. Sande also has about $100,000 more cash than La Rue Hatch in Assembly District 25.

In Assembly District 29, Republican Annette Dawson Owens raised $88,000, compared to Democrat Joe Dalia’s $80,000. Dalia, however, has around $85,000 more in cash than Dawson Owens.

In Assembly District 35, vacated by Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow (D-Las Vegas), Republican Rebecca Edgeworth has raised about $130,000 more than her Democrat opponent Sharifa Wahab, whose haul of about $27,000 was the lowest among any candidate in a race. Edgeworth also has about $100,000 more in cash on hand.

Republican David Brog raised $128,000 in Assembly District 37, about $20,000 more than Assemblywoman Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas). Backus, however, has a more than $25,000 lead in cash on hand.

Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) raised over $190,000 in Assembly District 41, the most of any candidate in a race. Her Republican opponent, Rafael Arroyo, raised $70,000. Jauregui also has a lead of more than $260,000 in cash on hand.

Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) raised $174,000 toward her re-election bid in Senate District 5, while Democrat Jennifer Atlas raised about $114,000. Buck also has a lead of about $115,000 in cash on hand.

In Senate District 15, which is likely the best chance for a Democratic pickup in the Senate because of redistricting, Assemblywoman Angie Taylor (D-Reno) raised $110,000 in her bid to take the seat vacated by Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert (R-Reno). Republican Mike Ginsburg, meanwhile, raised $75,000 and has a cash-on-hand lead of about $7,000.

In Assembly District 4, Democrat Ryan Hampton raised $173,000 compared to Republican Lisa Cole’s haul of $140,000. Hampton also has about $100,000 more in cash on hand than Cole.

Millions of dollars poured into Lombardo’s campaign machine through several PACs supporting the governor and his legislative candidates. The most public-facing one is the Better Nevada PAC, which received millions last year from Lombardo’s top campaign donor, Robert Bigelow.

In 2022, the PAC unleashed attacks against legislative Democrats embroiled in a “culture of corruption.” Better Nevada PAC raised more than $2.3 million, bolstered by a $1.6 million donation from the Las Vegas Sands and The Venetian, a company founded by late GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson and now led by his widow, Miriam Adelson. It also received $100,000 from Uber.

The PAC spent $2 million on consulting and advertising last quarter. It also contributed to Republican candidates running in nine races, except Ginsburg, whose race is among the likely Democratic victories.

Additionally, Better Nevada transferred $1.4 million to a new PAC called the Better Nevada Ballot Advocacy Committee, which formed in May, to focus on supporting a voter ID ballot initiative. The initiative gathered more than 179,000 signatures in support and is awaiting approval from county election officials, which is due to state officials Thursday.

Another Lombardo-affiliated PAC is the Nevada Way PAC, which raised $630,000, with a $250,000 donation from Boyd Gaming Corporation. The PAC donated money to candidates in eight legislative races (all except Ginsburg and Buck). The Stronger Nevada PAC, a pro-Lombardo group run by former Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, also paid for in-kind media production services valued at $5,000 each for 11 Republican candidates, including Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola and many other legislative candidates.

In addition to the Lombardo-backed group on voter ID raising $1.4 million, three other groups supporting ballot initiatives received at least $1 million in donations from April through June. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, the group behind the ballot initiative to establish a constitutional right to abortion in Nevada, raised about $1.4 million, roughly the same amount raised last quarter.

It included $550,000 from the Tides Foundation, a left-leaning philanthropic fund with ties to Democratic megadonor George Soros, and $150,000 from Think Big America, a nonprofit tied to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker that had previously given $1 million to the initiative. Quinn Delaney, a prominent Democratic donor, also gave $250,000 to the group.

Vote Yes on 3, a new group supporting Question 3 on the November ballot, which would establish open primaries and ranked-choice voting for non-presidential races, raised $5.75 million in the quarter. The haul included $4 million from Article IV, a Virginia-based group that bills itself as a nonpartisan group focused on improving democracy. The group also received $1.5 million from Unite America, a philanthropic fund dedicated to election reform, and $250,000 from Wynn Resorts.

The other seven-figure donation made by Uber was $1 million to Nevadans for Fair Recovery, a group backing the ballot initiative that seeks to cap attorney fees in Nevada at 20 percent of all settlements and awards. The ride-sharing company previously gave $4 million to the group.

This initiative is not vying for a spot on the November ballot but is instead seeking to address the 2025 legislative session. If it gets enough votes to do so and the Legislature does not act on it, the question could go before voters in the 2026 election.

A group of Nevada trial lawyers filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking to block the petition, arguing its intention is to slow the sexual misconduct suits against Uber. While its initial effort failed, the suit is under appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court.

Citizens for Justice, the political arm of the Nevada Justice Association (the group behind the lawsuit), raised $2 million and spent about $340,000 in the second quarter. It is unclear how much of this was related to the petition. This haul is six times as much as the group’s first-quarter fundraising total.

Former Rep. Shelley Berkley raised $255,000 and has $500,000 in cash In the Las Vegas mayoral race. Her general election opponent, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, raised $247,000 and has $269,000 in cash.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) is not facing a particularly competitive race this year but has more than $1 million in cash. She could be eyeing a run for statewide office in 2026.

In Senate District 3, Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) emerged victorious over a Culinary Union-backed challenger. Nguyen’s campaign finance report revealed she brought in a remarkable $400,000 and spent $565,000 in the quarter, with donations from casinos and unions.