Big business strikes back against new hope for corporate spending ban in Nevada elections
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In today's edition: We take a look at self-funded candidates. Plus: Sen. Jacky Rosen (D) wants to get immigrants back on the job and there's a lawsuit to stop an effort to crack down on corporate political spending.
My first visit to Nevada's 2nd Congressional District was productive, complete with candidate meetings, views of the Truckee and cow dung on my work flats. I'll be publishing stories on both parties' primaries sometime soon — let me know what burning questions you'd like answered.
This newsletter is published every week. We want to hear from you! Email your newsletter editor Mini Racker at [email protected].
DIY campaigns
Many of the candidates running in Nevada this year think they can pull a Sinatra and do things "My Way."
First, they don't think they need your money. A record number of Nevada House candidates are self-funding their campaigns. They don't necessarily spend it all; they may juice their fundraising numbers with loans they never use, then repay themselves later.
Democrats, especially, are unhappy with the system. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV) told me self-funding her losing 2016 campaign was "a mistake." Others see it as a necessary evil.
"I don't like spending money any more than the next person," said NV-02 candidate Greg Kidd (D), whose multimillion-dollar investment in 2024 made him Nevada's biggest self-funder in three decades. "I don't like this system. … I think it sucks."
Second, candidates don't think they need the media. As my colleague Tabitha Mueller wrote, they're depending more on their own social media outreach instead of taking tough questions from reporters or agreeing to debates.
But just as self-funding can distance candidates from constituents they no longer need to raise money from — not to mention from the concerns of Americans who aren't rich — the media's decline means they can often squeak through races while avoiding questions they don't want to answer.
"The danger isn't about media relations," said one expert. "It is: What happens to accountability, information quality, democratic decision-making, because when a politician doesn't want to answer the press's question, essentially they are avoiding scrutiny."
— Mini Racker
Big Business vs. Green Party leaders
A PAC tied to the Vegas Chamber is suing to stop the ballot initiative backed by Nevada Green Party officials to end corporate spending in state elections.
The lawsuit was filed last week in Carson City District Court by BizPAC, which regularly receives campaign contributions from Nevada businesses and routes them to political campaigns. It came three weeks after Green Party leaders filed a petition for a ballot initiative to prohibit corporations in Nevada from giving to candidates, political action committees and ballot initiatives.
The suit alleges the petition violates the rules that its "description of effect" must accurately describe the measure's implications and that it must only be about a single subject. The petition prohibits corporations from any activity not "expressly granted by law," which the lawsuit alleges would "create a drastic restriction on the powers of corporations generally."
Margery Hanson, the co-chair of the Nevada Green Party and one of the backers of the initiative, disagreed.
"They're trying to make it into something that it's not," she said.
Hanson, who is named in the lawsuit, added that she had not been served yet. She had not seen the lawsuit until Monday, five days after it was filed.
Matt Griffin, who is representing BizPAC, told The Indy that people have been tasked to serve the Green Party officials, and the process should conclude shortly.
Hanson previously told The Indy that supporters did not have the resources to fend off a lawsuit, but she said Monday that someone has volunteered to represent them.
— Eric Neugeboren
What we're reading and writing
💰⛏️ Were the donations in cash or golden nuggets?
👁️👁️Here's who you should watch in the race for Carson City's Assembly seat.
🚫👋Former supporters are working to oust an assemblyman.
🤫💸Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones made hidden donations in the race to replace him.
D.C. Download: Rosen wants immigrants back on the job
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) fought back last week against President Donald Trump's rule change that has made it more difficult for legal immigrants to work in America.
Until last fall, the government automatically extended work permits for people who filed for renewals on time while officials slowly processed their paperwork. Now, with the administration ending those automatic renewals, Rosen, immigration advocacy groups, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce say immigrants are at risk of losing jobs and the economy is facing disruption amid the backlog.
Rosen tried to overturn the rule Wednesday through a joint resolution, hammering home the affordability messaging that Democrats have remained singularly focused on for months.
"This is an issue that affects all of us," she said on the Senate floor. "Because, well, let me tell you, when industries like agriculture and construction lose workers, it impacts our supply chains and prices go up."
Over the past year, Rosen has made it a habit to go to the floor to challenge Trump and congressional Republicans. But in the minority, she has limited power; last week's resolution failed, 47-50. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted for it.
Rosen also held a question and answer session on the issue with reporters, underscoring the resolution's importance.
"Many [Republicans] won't do anything, even if it's positive, if it has the word 'immigration' in it," she said.
— Mini Racker
Indy Ad Watch: Fast and Furious
You know it's crunch time when campaigns and journalists are getting snippy and new election ads arrive on what feels like a daily basis.
Here's a quick update on a recent flurry of ad spending:
Action in the attorney general's race has picked up. AdImpact shows that a PAC supporting Treasurer Zach Conine (D) has spent more than $800,000 as of Monday afternoon. The spending dwarfs the $154,200 spent by Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro's (D-Las Vegas) campaign. That's the headliner, but new ads in the race from Cannizzaro, Conine and Douglas County Commissioner Danny Tarkanian (R) have contributed to more than $1.3 million in spending on that race.
They still lag behind $3.7 million in the Congressional District 3 election and $7.2 million in the governor's race.
Here's a taste of some of the latest ads to interrupt your viewing experience grace the airwaves.
- Sen. Lisa Krasner (R-Reno) released a biography-focused ad ("Proud to Serve") in her re-election bid for a Northern Nevada state Senate seat. She's facing a spirited primary challenge from radio host Monica Jaye Stabbert.
- George Harris, one of two Republicans vying to challenge Sen. Marilyn Dondero Loop (D-Las Vegas) in state Senate District 8, has a new direct-to-camera appeal focused on fuel supply, calling for "another supply line from Utah so we're not held hostage by decisions made in Sacramento."
- A tale of two VW buses is the focus of North Las Vegas mayoral candidate Scott Black's first ad.
- Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson put up one of the most standard ads of the cycle so far, highlighting his public service as Henderson mayor and Clark County commissioner.
— Tabitha Mueller and Riley Snyder
Mini Series: Votes are trickling in
🗳️ Slowly but surely — As of Monday morning, 249 votes have been cast in the June primary through the Effective Absentee System for Elections, which allows voters to register, receive a ballot and cast it entirely online. People eligible for the system include active duty military members, voters with disabilities and Native American voters living on a reservation or colony.
🥇 If you ain't first, you're last? — Assm. Daniele Monroe-Moreno (D-North Las Vegas), chair of the Nevada Democratic Party, said a delegation from Nevada is going to Washington later this month to plead the case to be the first state in the primary calendar. Eleven other finalist states, including Georgia and Michigan, will be traveling to DC as well.
- "Nevada should be number one," Monroe-Moreno told The Indy in an interview.
🚫 And then there were nine — The number of Democrats running in the 2nd Congressional District has dropped to nine, after two "anti-establishment" candidates ended their bids to endorse UNR political science student Morgan Wadsworth (D). Two of the other candidates who had originally agreed to consolidate around one candidate are still running.
- Because the deadline to withdraw from the ballot has passed, the two candidates — Josh Hebert (D) and Samuel White (D) — will still appear on the primary ballot.
— Eric Neugeboren, Oona Milliken and Mini Racker
Looking Ahead
- Thursday, May 7, 2026 — Nevada Democrats host fireside chat with Kamala Harris
- Wednesday, May 20, 2026 — Democratic attorney general candidate debate
- Saturday, May 23, 2026 — Early voting begins
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