While not unprecedented, Lombardo’s use of a nonprofit to manage his inaugural ball marks a departure from past practice.

Republican April Becker has filed an election integrity violation report alleging Democratic Clark County Commissioner Ross Miller violated campaign finance law several times.

During the 2022 election cycle, Nevada lawmakers raised a record $13 million through thousands of big-money contributions (those greater than $200) from a variety of groups and entities including unions, real estate developers, major companies and lawyers.

Still, even among smaller categories of donors, such as the mining industry and education groups, politically powerful organizations helped drive six-figure contributions across dozens of campaigns.

Thirty-seven Democratic lawmakers received an average of $11,326, compared with an average of $10,261 for 21 Republican lawmakers.

Direct contributions from outside PACs and political groups also broadly boosted Democratic candidates more than Republicans. At the top of the list, for instance, is the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national party’s state legislative campaign arm.

After the 2020 cycle saw cumulative contributions from the gaming industry to Nevada lawmakers nosedive to $769,000 amid plummeting gaming revenues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the industry bounced back in 2022, dishing out more than $1.2 million to 55 legislators. 

Standing alone at the top of the pack, the Nevada Association of Realtors, also known as Nevada REALTORS, gave more money than any other group, contributing more than $432,000 from the association and its multiple political action committees.

With all or nearly all contributions from AFSCME and other major union groups going to legislative Democrats, the 2022 election cycle continued a longstanding trend of union support for the party.

The multi-million dollar growth in fundraising for legislators came amid a competitive election cycle in Nevada with every top office up for grabs.

The amount — more than $1.4 million more than Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) had at the outset of 2021, the year before her re-election campaign — gives the incumbent Democrat a substantial headstart over potential Republican challengers. 

Lombardo received significant contributions from donors previously supportive of Sisolak, including 27 maximum contributions totaling $270,000 from companies owned and operated by MGM Resorts International.

From Oct. 1-19, Cortez Masto raised more than four times as much money as Republican Senate candidate and former Attorney General Adam Laxalt, bringing in $9.1 million to his $2.2 million.

A little more than three weeks before Election Day, candidates running for statewide and legislative offices are spending big in an attempt to gain the upper hand.

In a statement, her campaign touted individual donations from more than 170,000 contributors in the third quarter, with an average donation amount of $44.

Driving those fundraising totals were out-of-state donors — an analysis of more than 35,000 itemized contributions to Cortez Masto’s campaign found sums totaling more than $4.8 million, and another 2,700 contributions to Laxalt totaling more than $2.1 million.

A little more than three months before the general election, Democrats running for statewide and legislative offices lead fundraising efforts, but Republicans are not far behind.

Less than four months away from the midterm election in November, the record amounts likely signal the difficult re-election battles each of the Democrats will face over the coming months.

Groups affiliated with Gov. Steve Sisolak and other prominent Nevada Democrats were the financial backers of organizations that spent millions to drag down Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo and other more moderate Republicans ahead of the state’s June primary.

Cortez Masto’s campaign also touted significant support from small dollar donors during the second quarter, saying 97 percent of campaign contributions were $100 or less.