Democrats leading in money race

Democrats are sharply out-raising their Republican opponents in Nevada’s biggest races, according to state and federal campaign finance reports filed last week.

Between Southern Nevada’s three congressional races and the races for governor and U.S. Senate, Democrats brought in about $7 million in since the primary compared to Republican candidates’ $2.3 million.

That follows the trend seen since the beginning of the 2022 campaign cycle.

Democrats, all of whom are incumbents, have raised $40.8 million for those five races in total compared to Republicans’ $11.2 million.

Senate race gets more expensive

Fundraising was headlined by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who raised about $3.8 million for her re-election campaign against former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who himself raised $1.2 million.

That race is heating up following Laxalt’s primary win last month over Sam Brown. Laxalt has focused campaign efforts on attacking Cortez Masto for inflation, as well as her record on immigration and law enforcement.

At an event in Las Vegas with former President Donald Trump earlier this month, Laxalt said Cortez Masto — both of whom were former Nevada attorneys general — refused to support police during nationwide protests in 2020.

“(Cortez Masto) said she supported BLM in 2020, which we all know now and I knew at the time was a radical movement,” Laxalt said at the event. “This was dangerous rhetoric at a time where she needed her to actually break with her radical party.”

The Cortez Masto campaign has emphasized abortion rights as part of its messaging. That comes in the wake of the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing access to abortion at a federal level. Laxalt has previously stated that he supports changing Nevada law to limit abortion access in the state.

“There is no question in my mind that my opponent, Adam Laxalt, would support a federal abortion ban that eliminates access to reproductive care nationwide,” Cortez Masto said at a campaign event earlier this month. “He is out of line with a majority of Nevadans in this state.”

Her campaign has also tied Laxalt to Trump campaign attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Laxalt worked for the Trump campaign in Nevada and was supportive of ultimately unsuccessful efforts to legally challenge the state’s results.

Laxalt’s $1.2 million fundraising haul was the third highest of all Nevada candidates, which encompassed donations between May 26 and June 30, the the beginning of the newest FEC filings period. Reports were released Friday.

Cortez Masto’s state-leading fundraising pull also bolstered her campaign’s cash advantage over Laxalt. According to federal filings, her campaign has $9.85 million on hand, compared to Laxalt’s $2.15 million. However, as an incumbent, Cortez Masto has been building that cash pool since her first election in 2016. Laxalt unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2018.

Lombardo spends as Sisolak saves

Gov. Steve Sisolak was the second-largest fundraiser of the quarter, taking in $1.7 million for his re-election. That dwarfed his opponent, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo, who raised $782,000. State fundraising filings are for the entire second quarter — April 1 to June 30.

Despite the difference in fundraising, Lombardo spent significantly more than Sisolak, likely due to Lombardo’s primary race against Reno lawyer Joey Gilbert.

Gilbert, who lost the race by about 26,000 votes to Lombardo, has refused to concede and is now suing the state while alleging fraud in the election.

In the second quarter, the Lombardo campaign spent $2.53 million while Sisolak’s camp spent $461,000.

That spending difference has only helped Sisolak in building his cash advantage. The Sisolak campaign has about $10.8 million on hand, the most of any candidate in Nevada, compared to the Lombardo campaign’s $1.2 reserve. But just like with Cortez Masto, Sisolak’s incumbent status has given his camp a head start on fundraising, while Lombardo had to fight his way out of a crowded GOP primary.

In an echo of the state’s U.S. Senate race, the Lombardo campaign has attacked Sisolak on inflation, tying the governor to President Joe Biden, while the Sisolak team has fought back by attacking Lombardo’s stance on abortion rights.

Lombardo has refused to take a clear stance on abortion rights but previously stated that he would consider abortion restrictions if they came to his desk as governor and has described himself as pro-life.

Democrats extend fundraising lead in House races

In each of Southern Nevada’s three U.S. House races — Districts 1, 3 and 4 — the Democratic incumbents far out-raised their Republican opponents from May 26 through June 30.

Rep. Susie Lee raised the most since the primary, bringing in $554,000. Rep. Steven Horsford was close behind at $551,000 raised, while Rep. Dina Titus raised $424,000, according to federal filings since May 26.

The three incumbents’ opponents raised an average of about $100,000 each. April Becker, who is facing off against Lee, performed the best of the three Republicans, taking in $134,000.

Fundraising advantages have also turned into cash advantages for the three Democrats. Lee and Horsford each have about $2.5 million on hand, while Titus holds about $1.7 million, according to filings.

Titus’ opponent, Mark Robertson, has about $200,000 on hand while Becker and Horsford’s opponent, Sam Peters, have about $360,000 and $160,000, respectively.

Contact Nick Robertson at NRobertson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @NickRobertsonSU on Twitter.

An earlier version of this story misstated the period in which donations were made to federal candidates. The donations were received between May 26 through June 30.