Gov. Joe Lombardo’s 2025 campaign fundraising haul of $4.3 million relied heavily on so-called “bundling” arrangements, where donors are easily and legally able to skirt contribution limits by sending donations through different names.

About $1.9 million of Lombardo’s fundraising total came from these kinds of arrangements — which The Nevada Independent defined as donations from entities with known connections or with the same listed address that totaled more than the single-cycle contribution limit. This made up about 44 percent of his campaign's haul and did not include instances when it appeared two individuals living at the same address each gave the maximum amount of $10,000.

By contrast, so-called “bundlers” gave about $50,000 to Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford’s gubernatorial campaign in 2025, roughly 2 percent of his haul, and fellow Democratic candidate and Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill’s campaign was not reliant on bundling.

Bundling is a common practice among officials from both parties; former Gov. Steve Sisolak also relied heavily on the fundraising method.

This process is legal in Nevada because corporations are able to contribute directly to Nevada candidates, unlike donations for the federal government and in about one-third of states. Caesars, for example, donated $80,000 directly to Lombardo’s campaign account through eight affiliated companies.

On top of that, there are no limits in state law on donations to PACs.

“Campaign finance systems like these render individual contribution limits moot,” said Ken Miller, a UNLV political science professor.

Lombardo’s campaign account and associated PACs combined raised about $9 million. The Indy’s analysis of 1,300 donations made to both entities also revealed that money came from gaming and real estate companies, with top donors including Las Vegas hotel mogul Robert Bigelow, GOP megadonors and casino executives Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta and Las Vegas gambler and developer Billy Walters who was convicted of insider trader charges in 2017.

In a recent fundraising message, Ford said Lombardo’s $15 million in cash on hand is being driven by “corporate interests.” Ford’s campaign also raised about 25 times as much money from donations worth less than $100, despite Lombardo’s campaign haul doubling Ford’s.

In response to a request for comment about its reliance on bundling, Lombardo’s campaign said “there is nothing unusual or improper about the makeup of the Governor’s donor base.” It added that Nevada governors from both parties have long received donations through bundling, as have candidates in down-ballot races.

The campaign also noted that about 84 percent of Lombardo’s campaign haul was linked to Nevada addresses, about double the rate of Ford’s (42 percent). More than 95 percent of Hill’s contributions were from Nevada, with the vast majority coming from Reno.

In a statement, Ford’s campaign noted that more than half of his individual donors, rather than dollars, are from Nevada and that it received donations from all 17 countries within one month of the campaign’s launch. It added that it received 10,000 donations — which it says is a record for a gubernatorial campaign — and that about 90 percent of them were under $125.

In a statement before releasing her campaign finance report, Hill, who raised much less than Lombardo and Ford, said “I don’t think you should be able to buy your way into office.”

Top donors

The highest-dollar donations largely went to Lombardo’s PACs. The Fertittas, who run Station Casinos, each donated $1 million to a Lombardo-affiliated PAC, while Station Casinos itself donated another $1 million — meaning they collectively were responsible for about one-third of all money raised by Lombardo in 2025. 

“It's always going to raise that question for regular folks — what is this person buying? What is that interest? Why are they spending so much on elections?” said Aaron McKean, senior legal counsel at the Campaign Legal Center. “You can’t necessarily always point to ‘this large contribution led to this favor later on.’ But it does … undermine the confidence that the public has in our elected officials.”

Another prominent donor ($250,000) to Lombardo’s PAC was Nevadans for Fair Recovery, a PAC bankrolled by Uber. In 2024, the group was behind a failed ballot initiative to cap attorney fees in Nevada. It has also donated to Democratic candidates. 

“Uber is one of these companies that has been spending quite a bit of money in state politics around the country,” Miller said. 

But leading the way in direct donations to Lombardo’s campaign were two well-known Nevada donors — Bigelow and Walters.

Bigelow, the owner of the Budget Suites of America hotel chain and Lombardo’s top donor for his 2022 gubernatorial bid, gave $220,000 through 22 companies, all tied to a single address. 

All of Bigelow’s donations came on Dec. 10, which was the first day that donations were legally allowed after the Legislature’s fall special session prompted a donating blackout period. These were Bigelow’s first political donations to any candidate since 2022.

Walters, who was also a major bundler for former Gov. Steve Sisolak, donated $200,000 to Lombardo through 20 entities. He also made contributions to GOP Clark County Commissioner April Becker, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson, a Democrat, and state Senate candidate George Harris, a Republican.

Another notable donor to Lombardo was far-right activist Robert Beadles, who gave the maximum $10,000.

Gaming, real estate dominance

The gaming industry reigned supreme in donations to Lombardo.

Led by the Fertittas’ and Station Casinos’ $3 million in contributions, Lombardo's PAC also received $200,000 from South Point Hotel and Casino. Entities tied to Boyd Gaming also donated $158,000, along with about $40,000 more from individual Boyd employees.

The Venetian donated $100,000, while MGM Resorts, often a major donor to both parties, only donated $50,000 through multiple entities. It did not give any money to Ford.

Donors tied to the real estate and development sector — which can include anything from construction and commercial real estate groups to private real estate agents — contributed  about $1.6 million.

The largest donor was Leading Builders of America, a Washington, D.C.-based group representing homebuilders, which gave $300,000 to Lombardo’s PAC on Nov. 12 — the last day before the special session blackout period began. The group is a prominent donor to both parties and gave $100,000 to a Lombardo-affiliated PAC in 2024.

The next largest donor in this category came from a consortium of groups tied to Brett Torino, a commercial real estate developer and philanthropist. Lombardo received $120,000 from 12 entities linked to Torino. Alongside Walters and Bigelow, Torino rounded out the top three bundlers, making up about one-eighth of all of Lombardo’s campaign contributions.

The industry, which was the top direct donor to Lombardo’s campaign, had a prominent year in Nevada politics.

Housing was one of Lombardo’s priorities during the legislative session, and he helped push a bill through the Legislature that included a $133 million allocation to support development of “attainable housing.” He also approved $21 million to fund rental assistance programs across the state.

However, Lombardo faced backlash from Democrats for his veto of other housing bills, including ones that would have capped rent increases for seniors and changed the state’s eviction process that requires a tenant to file an initial court filing, not the landlord.

He also reportedly told legislators to vote against a bill to place a cap on annual corporate homebuying after vetoing a similar proposal two years earlier. The issue has risen to prominence lately after President Donald Trump signaled support for banning large investors from buying homes. Lombardo’s office has said he supports Trump’s efforts, and he has convened a working group to discuss the policy on the state level.

Miller also noted that the industry was a top donor to Lombardo’s 2022 gubernatorial campaign.

“It should be unsurprising that the candidate who becomes governor is not going to be especially supportive of policies that are going to be unfriendly to real estate,” he said.

Miller said there is a correlation between campaign donations and policy output, but he likened it to “the chicken and the egg problem.”

“Are certain businesses donating to certain politicians and then triggering a favorable policy?” Miller said. “Or is it that those businesses are contributing to that politician because they know that politician is going to support things that are going to help their business?”

Little appetite for reform

Nevada lawmakers tend to support incremental changes to campaign finance rules — one bill from last year’s session, for example, made certain changes to how unspent funds can be used — but large-scale reforms have been harder to come by.

Miller noted that eliminating corporate donations to candidates would likely only occur if there is a scandal that draws public outcry, or a clear disadvantage to a party that controls all levers of state government.

However, even if the state decides to prohibit corporations from giving money directly to candidates, they can donate unlimited amounts to PACs, which are not subject to contribution limits. These groups, in turn, can spend money on things such as advertising to support a candidate.

“If you were to change the law that allows for these types of donations tomorrow, that wouldn't stop this,” he said. “It would have to be a much more comprehensive reform.”

McKean added that one possible reform to decrease corporate influence is using public funds for campaign contributions. This process — active in dozens of jurisdictions, including New York City — is when a government provides matching funds for small-dollar donations made to candidates, thereby incentivizing campaigns to secure those contributions.

“You increase the power of that small-dollar donation,” McKean said.