Nevada's governor race is the biggest-ticket item on voters' ballots this fall. But what the next governor can accomplish will depend largely on this year's downballot state Assembly and Senate races.
Donors poured millions of dollars between July and September into legislative races as Democrats seek to protect and even expand their majorities in both chambers, while Republicans aim to keep those majorities from becoming veto-proof.
Democrats hold 27 of 42 Assembly seats and 13 of 21 state Senate seats. The party is one seat shy of the coveted two-thirds supermajority in both chambers, which would allow Democratic lawmakers to override vetoes or raise taxes without Republican support.
The latest round of campaign finance reports filed last week shows that money has clustered around just a handful of competitive seats. Candidates in nine of the state's 53 legislative races received roughly $2.4 million in direct contributions, more than half of the roughly $4.7 million donated to all legislative candidates.
Only one of these races features a Republican, Assm. Rebecca Edgeworth (R-Las Vegas), seeking re-election, while another three — Assembly Districts 2, 9 and 41 — are open seats. The other five races feature Democratic incumbents being targeted by Republicans.
Of those nine races, the median amount raised among Republican candidates was $91,000 while the median among Democratic candidates was roughly $190,000.
Overall, Democrats — who have more incumbent elected officials, which tends to correlate with larger fundraising numbers — raised roughly $3.1 million in direct campaign contributions in the quarter, compared to Republicans' $1.6 million. Democrats also outspent Republicans by roughly $2 million in total across all legislative races.
Though campaign donations don't determine election outcomes, they offer insight into where donors are directing their support and candidates' ability to put their name in front of voters through paid media. The numbers can also help reveal the connections between state lawmakers and political entities jockeying to develop relationships before the upcoming legislative session.
Republicans leaned heavily on support from casino corporations, as well as real estate and construction groups.
On the Democratic side, candidates received support from a wide array of liberal-leaning unions and advocacy groups.
Some groups gave significant donations to both major parties, including real estate industry groups such as the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association and the Nevada Realtors PAC. A self-driving car company that is a first-time donor in Nevada this cycle, Waymo, gave more than $75,000 since July to legislative candidates from both parties.
Perhaps most notable among the bipartisan donors was the Clark County Education Association (CCEA), which is backing Gov. Joe Lombardo's (R) re-election bid but also gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to leaders of both parties' legislative caucuses.
The Nevada Independent dug into the most recent round of campaign finance reports to see what billionaires, unions and PACs are sending money to which candidates. Continue reading to see what we learned.
Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) was the top legislative fundraiser in the third quarter of 2026, bringing in nearly $270,000 in direct campaign contributions. Marzola isn't in a competitive race — she's facing elementary school teacher Patsy Carvalho (R), who brought in just $1,525 in the same period — and is on track to become the next Assembly speaker in 2027.
Marzola's has a campaign war chest of roughly $379,000. As a caucus leader, she is expected to help shore up Democratic strength in the lower chamber.
A PAC run by Marzola, Nevada Brave, received $600,000 in September from Strategic Horizons, a CCEA-affiliated PAC.
As it has done throughout this election cycle, CCEA played both sides with fundraising. Strategic Horizons also sent $100,000 to GSD PAC, run by Assm. Lisa Cole (R-Las Vegas), despite GSD PAC distributing money to some Republican candidates that CCEA endorsed against this cycle.
The highest fundraiser among non-incumbent candidates was Ryan Hampton, a substance abuse recovery advocate with a national profile who raised more than $220,000 and has roughly $38,000 cash on hand. His Republican opponent, Erica Neely, a small business owner, raised roughly $49,000.
Other top fundraisers were Sens. Marilyn Dondero Loop (D-Las Vegas), who brought in roughly $270,000 in her re-election bid against Republican businessman George Harris, who raised $160,000 himself, and Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas), who raised roughly $200,000 as she wards off a challenge from Republican attorney Maria Thompson, who raised $190,000.
Scheible and Dondero Loop are in two of the three races with the biggest fundraising totals. The other was in Senate District 12, where Sen. Julie Pazina (D-Las Vegas) is facing a challenge from Republican small businessman Rafael Arroyo. Pazina raised $250,000 in the third quarter, while Arroyo raised roughly $101,000.
The Assembly race that brought in the most money was Assembly District 35, where Republican incumbent Edgeworth is seeking to protect her spot in a blue-leaning district against Democrat Joe Spica, a Strip worker who is a member of the Culinary Workers Union Local 226. Edgeworth brought in roughly $180,000, while Spica brought in roughly $137,000.
Edgeworth and Spica's race was one of several where donors were sharply divided between unions on the Democratic side and business and real estate groups on the GOP side.
In the open Assembly District 41, one of the cycle's most competitive races, casino pit boss Kelly Chapman, a Republican, faces social studies teacher Vinny Spotleson, a Democrat and member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Chapman raised $91,000 in the quarter, including big checks from multiple casinos, PACs representing Nevada resorts and realtors, Nevada Gold Mines and the Vegas Chamber.
Spotleson, who isn't taking corporate PAC money, raised $75,000 thanks to hefty contributions from Marzola, other lawmakers and unions such as the Nevada State Education Association.
A similar dynamic is unfolding in the open Assembly District 29, where business groups are seeking to block a victory for progressive Democrat Alex Pereszlenyi, the front-runner against Republican Joe Ludwig. The Vegas and Henderson chambers of commerce, the Nevada Resort PAC, the Keystone Corporation and multiple casino companies donated to Ludwig in the third quarter of 2026. Ludwig raised roughly $26,000 overall, compared to Pereszlenyi's roughly $68,000.
Pereszlenyi was one of multiple Democratic legislative candidates to receive a hefty donation from Ross Boucher, a software developer who helped create Stripe, a financial transaction processing tool. Boucher had never donated in Nevada political races before this cycle but donated $15,000 to both the Nevada Senate Democrats and the Assembly Democratic Caucus in July.
In another open race, Assembly District 2 in Las Vegas' Summerlin area, Republican Drew Teitelbaum brought in roughly $68,000 — more than double the roughly $32,000 haul of his Democratic opponent, Kamilah Bywaters. Teitelbaum's sole $10,000 donation, the maximum possible contribution, came from the Republican Jewish Coalition, while Bywaters' sole $10,000 donation came from Marzola.
One race breaking the unions versus business groups trend was Assembly District 37, where Assm. Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas) brought in $130,000 in her re-election bid. Backus received money from business groups such as Nevada Gold Mines, Southwest Gas, AirBnb and the Vegas Chamber but also unions and advocacy groups. Her opponent, Clark County Republican chair Jill Douglass, received roughly $38,000 in direct contributions and loaned herself $20,000.
The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) became a significant donor in Nevada legislative races this year, after opening its Nevada office in 2025 and hosting Vice President J.D. Vance (R) for a closed-door event in Las Vegas in August.
The RJC Nevada PAC gave contributions of $10,000 each to six GOP candidates, as well as Lombardo and multiple Republican PACs. Campaign finance filings for RJC Nevada show the PAC received $150,000 from Amusement Industry, Inc., a California-based real estate developer, and $15,000 from Ben Farahi, a Reno-based businessman and former casino owner.
RJC's national PAC also gave $10,000 to Douglass — its first donation in Nevada since 2016.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson (D) has now donated to both candidates in Senate District 8, giving Harris $2,000 in August after giving Dondero Loop $1,000 in April. Harris also received $5,000 from Robert Beadles, a conservative activist and election conspiracy theorist.
Another major Republican donor was Ben Horowitz, the co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has been a lead investor in Flock and other AI and data center companies. He and his wife, Felicia, who live in Las Vegas, shelled out maximum $10,000 contributions each to Harris, Edgeworth, Thompson and Arroyo.
Companies that could see new regulations on their industries from the state Legislature next year also got in the mix.
Waymo, the self-driving car company, made its first political donations in Nevada this cycle, giving roughly $75,000 to 22 legislative candidates from both parties. Data center company Switch gave $23,000 in total to multiple Democratic candidates and caucuses. AirBnB gave $11,000 to five legislative candidates in the third quarter, all Democrats, after making multiple donations to legislative Republicans last year.
Real estate groups also got involved in races, especially as state lawmakers are considering capping corporate homebuying next session, for which Lombardo has declared his support.
Nevada Realtors made significant contributions, although primarily to Democrats — giving money to Dondero Loop, Pazina, Backus, Carter and a Marzola PAC. Nevada Realtors' only Republican legislative candidate to receive a direct donation was Teitelbaum.
Isabella Aldrete, Piper Heath and Eric Neugeboren contributed reporting to this story.
