One safe bet in the race for governor: Lombardo won’t be outspent

The filing period for politicians hoping to compete in this year’s primary and general election isn’t until March, but matchups in many of the state’s top races are already forming, and the fundraising battles are well underway.

Thursday marked the deadline for candidates filing their annual financial disclosure forms, which list their sources of income, and their annual campaign contributions and expenses report. The reports show most incumbents amassing sizable war chests and provide some insight into what groups and people are supporting which candidates.

At the top of the ticket, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo is running for a second term and entering this election year with approximately $15 million. Meanwhile, his best-funded challenger, Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, is starting with $2 million.

According to Lombardo’s contributions and expenses report, his official campaign account has $9 million on hand and raised $4.5 million last year. But his campaign on Wednesday announced that two political action committees affiliated with the governor — Nevada Way and Better Nevada — have a combined $5.9 million on hand after raising $4.7 million in 2025.

The majority of that PAC fundraising — $4.5 million — was done through Nevada Way PAC, according to the PAC’s reports. Top donors to the PAC last year include Station Casinos, Frank Fertitta, and Lorenzo Fertitta. Each gave $1 million. The Fertitta brothers are CEO and board of directors vice chair of the casino company, respectively.

Other resort industry contributions: South Point Hotel and Casino ($200,000), Venetian Las Vegas ($100,000), Boyd Gaming ($100,000) and Caesars Entertainment ($70,000).

One notable donation from the non-gaming world was $250,000 from the Nevadans For Fair Recovery, a PAC affiliated with Uber. The rideshare giant last year was in a battle with trial lawyers over legal liability laws and attorney fee caps. (That effort ended with the Nevada State Legislature passing, and Lombardo signing, a compromise bill.)

The other PAC affiliated with the governor, Better Nevada, raised $266,000 in 2025. All of it from a single source: an Ohio-based dark money outfit called A Public Voice Inc.

Lombardo also has more than $115,000 in his legal defense fund, according to a separate contributions and expenses report filed this week. That account was set up after 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary candidate Joey Gilbert challenged Lombardo’s win. (Lombardo won. Gilbert was ordered to cover Lombardo’s attorney’s fees.) Lombardo later used the fund to defend a legal battle with the Nevada Ethics Commission, which censured him for improperly using his Clark County sheriff’s badge and uniform in campaign materials.

Lombardo’s campaign in a press release Wednesday said he is in “the strongest financial position of any governor in Nevada history at this stage of the cycle.”

For comparison, in January 2022, then-Gov. Steve Sisolak announced he’d raised $4.45 million in 2021 and had $8.28 million on hand. Sisolak would go on to lose his seat that year to Lombardo, whose campaign in early 2022 had $2.6 million on hand.

Ford, who officially launched his campaign in July, raised $2.2 million last year. He has $1.5 million on hand.

Forward Nevada PAC, which is affiliated with Ford, raised an additional $470,000, according to its report.

Ford’s campaign called it “one of the strongest fundraising starts by a gubernatorial challenger in Nevada history.”

As one of the only states where state government control is split between Republicans and Democrats, Nevada’s gubernatorial race is expected to be hotly watched this November.

Before then will  be the June primary. Irina Hansen, a Las Vegas businesswoman who came in ninth in the city’s mayoral primary last year, and Matthew Winterhawk, a conservative who says he fights indoctrination in the public education system, have publicly announced they intend to run against Lombardo in the Republican primary.

Neither candidate had filed a contributions and expenses report as of late Thursday.

Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill has also announced her intent to run for governor. Her contributions and expenses report had not been uploaded by late Thursday, but according to her campaign she has raised around $271,000 since September and has $60,000 on hand.

In a video posted to social media earlier in the day, Hill criticized her opponents for bragging about their fundraising totals.

“They think that’s some sort of badge of honor, while real Nevadans are struggling,” she said. “They are more interested in selling out than in actually addressing our severe problems in the state.”

Attorney General

Four candidates have announced their hope to succeed Ford as Nevada attorney general: Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro, State Treasurer Zach Conine, Douglas County Commissioner Danny Tarkanian, and former Cannabis Compliance Board Chair Adriana Guzmán Fralick.

When it comes to their official campaign accounts, about $159,000 separates the two Democrats, Cannizzaro and Conine. About $164,000 separate the two Republicans, Tarkanian and Guzmán Fralick.

Cannizzaro is starting the year with $815,319 on hand; Conine has $656,200.

She raised $645,387 last year. He raised $459,594.

However, Conine’s Let’s Get to Work PAC raised $1 million last year while two Cannizzaro-affiliated PACs raised just $49,000.

Conine’s Let’s Get to Work PAC had one donor: Blockchains founder and CEO Jeffrey Berns. Berns is the millionaire behind a 2021 failed proposal to allow tech companies to form their own governments. Berns has donated to Conine’s PAC in past election cycles, though his previous highest donation was $500,000.

Cannizzaro’s Battle Born and Raised Leadership PAC raised $15,000 . Her Female Majority PAC raised $34,318. Southwest Gas was the top donor to the former PAC. Healthy Nevada PAC, which is affiliated with the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), was the top donor for the latter PAC.

Meanwhile, on the Republican side, Tarkanian reported having $340,529 on hand at the start of the year. Guzmán Fralick reported having $175,823. 

Guzmán Fralick, who announced her candidacy in October, raised $198,719 in the last four months of the year. Tarkanian raised $390,476 across the whole year and out fundraised his primary competitor during the last four months.

In December, Lombardo publicly endorsed Guzmán Fralick, prompting Tarkanian to issue a press release accusing “the deep-state consulting class” of recruiting “a candidate they could control.”

According to her campaign bio, Guzmán Fralick is an attorney who has previously served as legal counsel for a variety of public bodies, including the Public Utilities Commission and Gov. Jim Gibbons, and as a chief deputy district attorney and deputy city manager for Carson City.

Lieutenant governor

Nevada’s tightest fundraising race appears to be in the only state constitutional office that is a part time job: lieutenant governor.

Only around $6,600 separate the campaign accounts of the incumbent, Republican Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, and his Democratic challenger, state Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui.

Anthony, who is running for a second term, reported having $232,026 going into the new year. Jauregui reported having $225,390.

Anthony’s top donors are MGM Resorts and Zuffa, the parent company of UFC. Jauregui’s include various local and national PACs associated with Democrats.

Zuffa also donated to Jauregui, though only $7,500 compared to $10,000 for Anthony.

Jauregui in October announced she would run for lieutenant governor. Before that, she announced she would not seek reelection for the Assembly seat she has held since 2016.

Jauregui, who survived the 1 October mass shooting in 2017, is known for her legislative work on gun control. More recently, in the 2025 regular legislative session and the 2025 special session, she championed a massive expansion of the state’s film tax credit program. That effort failed in both sessions.

A PAC affiliated with Laborers’ International Union of North America, better known as LIUNA, donated $10,000 to Jauregui’s campaign last month.

Anthony and Jauregui may appear on the ballot along with what’s become the former’s signature issue: banning transgender athletes in the state from competing in leagues and competitions that don’t match the gender they were assigned at birth. Lombardo announced he would be backing a proposed constitutional amendment targeting trans athletes.

Anthony has become an outspoken opponent of trans athletes, forming in the lieutenant governor’s office a “Task Force to Protect Women in Sports.”

Treasurer

The Nevada State Treasurer is an open race, as Democratic incumbent Zach Conine runs for attorney general.

Democratic Assemblymember Joe Dalia and Republican Drew Johnson, a former policy analyst who has focused on government spending and waste, are seeking the office.

Dalia, who is serving his first term in the state Assembly, reported going into the new year with $170,779. He raised a little more than that in 2025. 

His top contributors include Write the World LLC, failed 2024 independent Congressional District 2 candidate Greg Kidd, and Democratic controller candidate Michael MacDougall. Each donated $10,000.

Johnson reported having $47,505 on hand. His top contributor was Marnell Gaming Management, which focuses on tribal casinos.

In 2024, Johnson ran for Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District, where he emerged victorious out of a crowded primary but lost to Democratic incumbent  U.S. Rep. Susie Lee. In the election cycle before that, in 2022, he narrowly lost to incumbent Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones.

Secretary of State

Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar is the only Democratic incumbent running for reelection in a statewide race. Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford and Treasurer Zach Conine are both seeking higher office.

Aguilar reported having $543,137 for his re-election campaign going into 2026. He raised $389,563 last year.

Republican Sharron Angle has announced she intends to challenge Aguilar. In 2024, Angle ran for Nevada State Senate District 15, which covers part of Reno. She lost in the Republican primary to Michael Ginsburg, who would go on to lose to Democrat Angie Taylor.

Angle had not filed a campaign finance report as of late Thursday.

Controller

Nevada State Controller Andy Matthews, a Republican, started the new year off with $254,115 — $153,613 of which he raised last year.

That means the incumbent has a significant head start over Democrat Michael MacDougall, the only other person who’s announced he intends to run for the office.

MacDougall, a local high school teacher who announced he was running in early December, reported having $20,389. The vast majority of that came from two donors who share his last name.

Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include additional information about Nicole Cannizzaro’s PACs. The article has also been corrected to reflect that Aaron Ford raised $2.2 million last year. An earlier version incorrectly stated he’d raised just under $2 million. Additionally, the article has been corrected to reflect that Write the World LLC is not a nonprofit. It is a separate, corporate entity associated with the national nonprofit Write the World Inc.