Top candidates for Nevada’s hotly contested U.S. Senate seat brought in millions of dollars in campaign funds over the first part of 2018, but raising those funds was a group effort.

Sen. Dean Heller and his likely Democratic opponent, Rep. Jacky Rosen, both sit squarely in the middle of a web of “joint fundraising committees,” groups that split donor funds between the Nevada candidates, political groups and their potential future colleagues in the U.S. Senate.

In total, the committees brought in nearly half a million dollars combined to Heller and Rosen’s primary campaign accounts over the first three months of 2018. Overall, Heller reported raising $1.1 million over the period and Rosen brought in $2.6 million.

A closer look at these committees shines a light on a less publicized, but still critical aspect of how major candidates for Senate assemble massive campaign accounts and provide hints at which of their fellow senators either Heller or Rosen may have close relationships with if elected in 2018.

Under law, joint fundraising committees (JFCs) can be created by two or more candidates, PACs or party committees to share the cost of fundraising and split the proceeds of any contributions. Recipients in the JFC can’t receive more than the federally allowed maximum from a single donor ($5,400 for a single election cycle), but their existence allows donors to cut a larger check above the limit that is then disseminated to multiple candidates.

Closely viewing the spending and contribution sources for these PACs can also uncover some eye-raising details, including Heller’s leadership PAC donating to an under-the-radar nonprofit that opposed raising renewable energy standards in the 2017 Legislature.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the 550 active joint fundraising committees raised a total of $1.2 billion in the 2016 election, and have reported raising nearly $257 million so far in the 2018 cycle.

Below, we’ve outlined which joint fundraising committees that Rosen and Heller report involvement with on their Federal Election Commission forms, and any additional PACs affiliated with the candidates outside their primary campaign accounts.

Dean Heller

Heller — widely considered one of the most vulnerable senators up for re-election in 2018 — is associated with at least six joint fundraising committees with fellow Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

He also was previously involved with two joint fundraising committees with Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake, but both have filed termination reports. Flake announced he would not run for re-election last year.

All of the accounts are either affiliated with Heller’s Senate campaign account or with his leadership PAC, the aptly named HellerHighWater PAC. That group reported raising over $80,000 in the month of March, distributing $10,000 each to Nevada congressional candidate Cresent Hardy, Missouri Senate candidate Josh Hawley, North Dakota Senate candidate Kevin Cramer and Tennessee Senate candidate Marsha Blackburn. Overall, Heller’s leadership PAC has more than $273,000 in available cash on hand.

It also gave $25,000 to a group called Secure Nevada’s Future, a nonprofit formed by former Republican National Committee field director Chris Young that is not required to disclose its donors. The group was formed in March 2017 to oppose a bill in the Legislature that would have raised minimum renewable energy production standards. Heller’s campaign did not return an email seeking comment on the donation.

Joint fundraising groups transferred about $82,500 to Heller’s campaign through the first part of 2018.

The Heller Victory Committee is a joint fundraising vehicle for Heller’s campaign account, his leadership PAC and the Nevada Republican Party. It reported raising $47,500 over the first 3 months of April, transferring $16,300 to the senator’s campaign account, $1,199 to his leadership PAC and about $3,600 to the state party.

The similarly named Heller Senate Joint Victory Committee — which is composed of the same members of the Heller Victory Committee, plus the NRSC — raised slightly more than $84,000 over the first three months of 2018. The group, which was due to host an ultimately cancelled fundraising event with Vice President Mike Pence last month, reported transferring a little more than $21,000 to Heller’s primary Senate account and about $3,400 to the NRSC over the reporting period.

Protect the Senate 2018, a group affiliated with Rubio, raised $158,5000 over the first quarter of 2018, and gave the bulk of it away to Heller, Missouri Senate candidate Roger Wicker and Nebraska Senator Debra Fischer. Heller received the most out of the three — just over $44,000.

The Barrasso Heller Victory Fund didn’t report any fundraising during 2018, but has given nearly $9,000 each to Heller and the Montana senator.

McConnell’s PAC — the Protecting the Majority Committee — has not been active this year, but transferred nearly $41,000 to Heller’s campaign account in September 2017. The committee has also transferred funds to Fischer and Flake.

Jacky Rosen

A veritable alphabet soup of Democratic senators and Senate candidates have partnered with Rosen’s primary Senate account, including Tennessee Senate candidate Phil Bredesen, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Arizona Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly, Florida Sen. Bill Nelson, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and Hawaii Sen. Mazie Hirono.

Rosen’s leadership PAC — Smart Solutions PAC — has been far less active than Heller’s. It reported raising $15,000 over the month of April, distributing it to several Democratic candidates including McCaskill, Nelson, California congressional candidate Salud Carbajal, Nevada congressional candidate Susie Lee and Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown.

But Rosen is connected with many more joint fundraising groups with Democratic senators and candidates, and took in roughly $338,000 from those groups over the first reporting period of 2018.

The Rosen Victory Fund — composed of her Senate campaign and the Nevada State Democratic Party — raised $51,800 over the first three months of 2018, including $10,000 from former Boyd Gaming executive Robert Boughner and $5,000 from Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s PAC. It distributed $25,000 to the state party and Rosen’s Senate campaign over the fundraising period and has nearly $20,000 in cash on hand.

Nevada Senate Victory 2018 — which includes Rosen’s campaign and the DSCC — didn’t report raising any funds in 2018, but raised over $36,000 in 2017. It gave $21,000 to Rosen’s campaign in November 2017.

Rosen and Sinema, the Arizona congresswoman running for the seat vacated by Flake, are connected through at least two joint fundraising groups. The two are the joint partners of the “Arizona Nevada Victory Fund,” which raised more than $281,000 in the first three months of 2018 and transferred more than $124,000 to Rosen’s campaign and about $122,000 to Sinema’s campaign.

The two are also partnered in Arizona Nevada New York Victory 2018, which as the name suggests, also includes Gillibrand. That group raised nearly $52,000 over the reporting period, with Rosen taking in about $17,000, Sinema receiving more than $16,000 and Gillibrand’s campaign receiving more than $12,000 in transferred funds.

Rosen also took in more than $68,000 over the reporting period from “Common Sense 2018,” a joint fundraising group affiliated with McCaskill. It reported raising $270,200 over the quarter, and has just over $32,000 in cash on hand available.

A joint fundraising group led by Hirono, Justice 2018, took in more than $371,000 over the first three months of 2018, and ended the period with more than $100,000 in available cash. It doled out more than $100,000 over the reporting period and gave Rosen’s Senate committee more than $67,000, the highest of any other candidate.

2018 Senate Impact — led by Indiana Sen. Joe Donnelly — reported raising slightly more than $17,000 in the first reporting period of the year, with Rosen receiving $37,000 from the committee. It gave similar amounts to Nelson, Donnelly and Texas Senate candidate Beto O’Rourke’s campaigns.

A joint fundraising committee created by Nelson called “Senate Impact: FL & NV” did not report raising or transferring any funds since being created in January. The similarly named “Senate IMPACT TN & NV,” which supports Rosen and Bredesen, has also not reported raising any funds since it was created in March.

Disclosure: Boyd Gaming and Susie Lee have donated to The Nevada Independent. You can see a full list of donors here.