Democrats and Republicans running in the most consequential Nevada legislative races continue to be neck and neck in fundraising and cash on hand as the election cycle enters its home stretch, campaign finance reports released this week show.

Across the 10 contests most likely to determine whether Democrats secure a two-thirds supermajority in both chambers, the Democratic candidate in six of those races outraised their Republican opponent from July through September. Democrats also had more cash on hand at the end of September than their GOP counterparts in six of the 10 races.

The findings — which represent the final look at a campaign’s finances before ballots are cast — continue the yearlong trend of a tight fundraising battle in the races that are key to whether Democrats win two-thirds of the seats in each chamber, which would allow them to overturn vetoes issued by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Lombardo has shown himself more than willing to exercise his veto authority, rejecting a record 75 of the 611 bills that came to his desk last session and touting himself as a potent, one-man backstop to policies from the left in a state with deep structural advantages for Democrats.

Democrats have little room for error. They control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one shy of the two-thirds supermajority) and 28 seats — a supermajority — in the 42-member Assembly. In the 10 races The Nevada Independent has deemed most important, based on electoral history and district partisanship, three of them are currently controlled by Republicans.

In total, the Democrats in these races raked in about $1.38 million from July through September, while Republicans posted a haul of $1.34 million. All but five of the candidates in these races also raised six figures in the third quarter.

While money is not the end-all, be-all in legislative races, it still plays an important role. It allows candidates to reach voters through advertisements and campaign flyers and can signal to donors, the media and insiders which candidates are committed to winning and who may be vulnerable to defeat.

A fundraising advantage is also consistently a predictor of victory. In the past two election cycles, the margins of victory in 14 legislative races were less than 5 percentage points. Across these races, 12 of the candidates who raised more money through the end of September won their races, according to a Nevada Independent analysis.

The latest campaign finance reports continue to show Lombardo’s campaign machine in full force. The Lombardo-affiliated Better Nevada PAC gave $5,000 to nine legislative candidates (in all of the most consequential races except for Senate District 15, a GOP-held open seat in Reno that is likely to turn blue because redistricting has made the district more favorable to Democrats).

Additionally, as is common in Nevada politics, a host of candidate committees from both parties gave money to candidates in the key races, and casinos were also common donors.

There were some prominent names in the campaign finance reports. Oakland Athletics owner John Fisher gave $10,000 to a Republican challenging a Democratic senator who voted against the public financing bill to bring his team to Las Vegas, UFC CEO Dana White donated $5,000 to eight GOP candidates and civil rights attorney Ben Crump gave $9,000 to a Democrat running in a red Assembly district.

Click through the graphic below to see how the money breaks down in each race.

Democrat-held seats

• Senate District 11: Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas) brought in $168,000 in the third quarter with $166,000 in cash on hand, while Republican Lori Rogich raked in $140,000 and has $339,000 on hand. Rogich was the GOP candidate to receive $10,000 from Fisher, the Athletics owner, after Harris opposed bringing the team to Las Vegas. Rogich also received $10,000 from the PAC run by Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama (R-Las Vegas). The district is in the southwestern Las Vegas Valley. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 21: Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) significantly outraised her GOP opponent in the third quarter, posting a haul of $218,000 to April Arndt’s $72,000. Marzola also has a quarter-million-dollar advantage in cash on hand to retain her seat representing the southern Las Vegas Valley. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 25: Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno) is the most underwater of any Democratic incumbents in key races. Republican Diana Sande outraised La Rue Hatch in this Northern Nevada district, bringing in more than $200,000, while La Rue Hatch raised $75,000. Sande also received $10,000 from Kasama’s PAC, while La Rue Hatch received $7,500 from the political arm of the Nevada Justice Association, a group of state trial lawyers. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 29: The least expensive race came in this open, Democrat-held seat in the southeastern Las Vegas Valley. Democrat Joe Dalia narrowly outraised Republican Annette Dawson Owens, bringing in $73,100 to Dawson Owens’ $72,600. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 35: Republican Rebecca Edgeworth raised the most money among key candidates in quarter three with a haul of $242,000 that, notably, included $10,000 from the Clark County Education Association and Nevada Resort Association. Democrat Sharifa Wahab raised $154,000, which included many out-of-state donors. The open seat represents the southwestern Las Vegas Valley and is being vacated by Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow (D-Las Vegas).

• Assembly District 37: Assemblywoman Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas) raised about $200,000 in her bid to continue representing this Summerlin district, while Republican David Brog raised about $120,000. Brog had a fundraising lead at the start of this year, but Backus has since outpaced him. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 41: Assembly Majority Leader Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) significantly outraised her GOP opponent Rafael Arroyo. She brought in about $130,000 in the third quarter, while Arroyo posted a haul of $38,000. The district is in the southern Las Vegas Valley. 

Republican-held seats

• Senate District 5: In one of the more closely watched races, Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) raised $166,000 in the third quarter, while Democrat Jennifer Atlas raised $137,000. Buck also has a nearly $200,000 advantage in cash on hand as she seeks to continue representing this Henderson district. Read more about the race here.

• Senate District 15: In the likeliest pickup opportunity for Democrats, Assemblywoman Angie Taylor (D-Reno) raised $100,000 to represent this open Reno Senate district, which has become bluer because of redistricting. Republican Mike Ginsburg raised $61,000, though in a sign of the GOP’s potential pessimism about the race, he did not receive any money from the Lombardo-affiliated Better Nevada PAC. The two candidates are neck and neck in cash on hand. Read more about the race here.

• Assembly District 4: Republican Lisa Cole raised $231,000 in the third quarter, while Democrat Ryan Hampton raked in $130,000. Notably, Cole received $10,000 from the pharmaceutical giant PhRMA. Hampton, an addiction recovery advocate, has faced off against the pharmaceutical industry while advocating for opioid epidemic victims. Cole also has a $150,000 advantage in cash on hand to represent this open northwestern Las Vegas seat vacated by Assemblyman Richard McArthur (R-Las Vegas). Read more about the race here.