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Democrats continue fundraising dominance in Nevada congressional races

The advantage is hardly a surprise. Democrats have also outspent Republicans by more than 100 times in ad space for three Southern Nevada House races.
Eric Neugeboren
Eric Neugeboren
Campaign FinanceCongressElection 2024Elections
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Nevada Democrats running for Congress significantly outraised their Republican opponents from July through September, the latest sign of a massive Democratic resource advantage as the election cycle enters its home stretch, according to campaign finance reports released this week.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) raised more than $12 million across the three-month period, about $3.5 million more than her Republican opponent, Sam Brown. In the three U.S. House races in Southern Nevada, Democrats raked in hundreds of thousands more than their Republican opponents, despite two Republicans loaning their campaigns more than $400,000 each.

And in the state’s lone Republican-held district, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) is also at a financial disadvantage after his opponent, independent Greg Kidd, loaned his campaign $4 million during the past three months, making up essentially his entire fundraising haul. Candidates can claw back that loaned money if they don't spend it.

The fundraising numbers continue the yearlong trend of Republicans trailing their Democratic counterparts. Rosen has significantly outraised Brown all cycle, while GOP House candidates in Southern Nevada have been unable to keep up with Democrats’ small-dollar donations and support from their national party.

While the reports released this week only show candidates’ direct spending and fundraising, outside groups play a significant role, too, by either propping up or ignoring congressional races. 

National Republican groups have essentially abandoned Southern Nevada’s House races this year after their millions in investments two years ago resulted in no seat pickups. 

Republicans have only spent about $170,000 in ads in the three House races — almost exclusively bankrolled by the campaigns themselves — while Democrats have spent more $18 million on ads in the three contests, according to ad-tracking firm AdImpact.

Click through the graphic below to see the specific fundraising numbers for each race.


Senate

Rosen’s $12.1 million haul in the third quarter was by far her best fundraising performance to date, besting her record-setting $7.6 million haul in the second quarter. It still trailed Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) $15 million total in the third quarter of 2022, after which Cortez Masto won her re-election campaign by less than 1 percentage point, the smallest margin in any Senate race nationwide.

Meanwhile, Brown raked in about $8.5 million, also by far his best performance this cycle after he raised $4 million in the second quarter.

Rosen’s haul brings her total money raised this cycle to more than $35 million, the sixth-highest amount of eight Democrats running in competitive Senate races. Rosen has consistently led in polls against Brown, and her contest is considered more likely to remain in Democratic hands than many of the other swing races. Cook Political Report, an election forecaster, has rated the seat as “Lean Democratic.”

Her fundraising advantage has allowed her to dominate the airwaves — but Brown is still putting up a fight. Democrats have already aired or reserved $79 million in ads to support Rosen, while the GOP has put up more than $45 million. In Nevada’s 2022 Senate race, Democrats had a roughly $20 million advantage in ad spending.

As has been the case all cycle, many of Rosen’s donors came from California, Nevada and New York, with the most unique donors in Quarter 3 coming from California, according to a Nevada Independent analysis of itemized donations — typically those of at least $200. She had at least 100 unique donors in 28 states and Washington, D.C.

Brown, meanwhile, had unique donors from 30 states in the third quarter. The most common states for donors were California, Nevada and Texas, which is where Brown used to live.

House

3rd Congressional District

In Southern Nevada’s Congressional District 3 — the race that election forecasters see as most competitive — Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) has a commanding fundraising lead.

Lee raked in more than $1.2 million, the most of any House Democrat in Nevada, and nearly double the haul of her opponent, Republican tax analyst Drew Johnson. This is despite Johnson loaning his campaign $422,000, which made up about two-thirds of Johnson’s fundraising total. Johnson has loaned his campaign $722,000 this cycle.

Lee also spent a staggering $2 million in the third quarter, compared with about $210,000 from Johnson. She has a roughly $1.8 million advantage in cash on hand.

4th Congressional District

The other Republican candidate to make a significant loan to his campaign was former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, who is challenging Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV) to represent the district sprawling across the northern Las Vegas Valley and center of Nevada. Lee loaned his campaign $500,000 in the third quarter — bringing his total amount of loans to more than $1 million — but it did little to chip into Horsford’s significant financial lead.

Horsford raised $1 million in the quarter, much more than the roughly $686,000 raised by Lee, which includes his loan. Horsford also spent $1.5 million more than Lee and has about $1 million more in cash on hand.

Read More: Once legislative colleagues, Steven Horsford, John Lee now squaring off for House seat

2nd Congressional District

By far the biggest loan among House candidates came from Kidd, who has mounted a nonpartisan challenge to Amodei in Congressional District 2, which spans across Northern Nevada. Aside from Kidd’s $4 million loan to the campaign — which brought his total amount of self-loans to $5.5 million — he only raised $466.

Still, the loan itself was more than enough to have a commanding financial lead over Amodei, who raised about $250,000. Kidd also spent $4 million, about 10 times as much as Amodei, who rarely faces competitive elections in his solid red district.

Republicans are also behind in ad spending in the district because of Kidd’s self-funded campaign. Kidd has put more than $3 million into ads, while Amodei’s campaign has spent about $160,000, according to AdImpact.

Read More: In Nevada’s only GOP House district, incumbent Amodei faces well-heeled indie challenge

1st Congressional District

The tightest fundraising battle in the state’s four House races came in Southern Nevada’s Congressional District 1 — but it isn’t close there, either.

Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) raised $539,000 in the third quarter, about $300,000 more than Republican Mark Robertson, a retired Army colonel. Titus also outspent Robertson by about $900,000 and has $650,000 more in cash on hand.

The election is a rematch from two years ago, when Titus prevailed by more than 5 percentage points. Robertson has essentially been silent on the airwaves this cycle after national Republicans spent more than $7 million in ads on his behalf two years ago. He told The Indy last month that he is more confident in his chances this time around, in part because of GOP openness to early and mail voting.

Robertson also loaned himself $79,000.

Read More: Dina Titus, Mark Robertson face off again in Nevada’s 1st Congressional District

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