Democrats have fundraising edge in Nevada congressional races
Democrats outpaced their Republican rivals in Nevada’s two competitive open congressional races during the latest fundraising reporting period, campaign finance reports show.
Susie Lee, the Democratic nominee in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, led the way by hauling in $585,000 from April 1 to June 30, according to campaign finance reports that were required to be filed by candidates this week with the Federal Election Commission.
She also spent more than $725,000 in that time period. Lee, a noted philanthropist who raised $500,000 in the first quarter of 2018, has more than $1.1 million in campaign cash on hand, the most of any Congressional candidate in Nevada this year.
Lee’s opponent, Republican businessman Danny Tarkanian, pulled in $307,000 in that same three-month period, down from the $380,000 he raised from Jan. 1 to March 31. Tarkanian spent about $221,000, with $150,000 of that as loan repayments to himself.
Tarkanian has about $650,000 in cash on on hand.
From left, Susie Lee, Democratic candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, Danny Tarkanian, Republican candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, Cresent Hardy, Republican candidate for 4th Congressional District, and Steven Horsford, Democratic candidate for the 4th Congressional District. (Las Vegas Review-Journal )
The 3rd Congressional District stretches from southwest Las Vegas and includes all of Henderson, Boulder City and Laughlin. Incumbent Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen is running for U.S. Senate against Republican Sen. Dean Heller.
The money race in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District is much closer thanks to drastically different spending patterns between the two major party candidates.
Democrat Steven Horsford outraised Republican Cresent Hardy — both of whom previously held the seat for a single term — $401,000 to $229,000, according to their respective FEC reports. But Horford’s $425,000 spent in the second quarter was more than three-times that of Hardy.
Hardy has a cash-on-hand lead over Horsford, $304,000 to $198,000.
The 4th Congressional District stretches from North Las Vegas to include parts of Northwest Las Vegas and extends north to Ely and over to Pahrump in the west.
In the less-competitive races, the incumbents far outraised their opponents.
Democratic Rep. Dina Titus raised just more than $100,000 from April through June in her bid for re-election in the Democrat-leaning 1st District, which represents the central Las Vegas Valley. The Republican nominee, Joyce Bentley, has not reported raising or spending any money to the FEC.
In the race for the Republican-leaning 2nd Congressional District, which includes Reno, Carson City and most of Northern Nevada, incumbent Republican Rep. Mark Amodei raised $252,000. Democratic nominee Clint Koble raised $28,000 in that same period.
Contact Capital Bureau reporter Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @ColtonLochhead on twitter