It was a drama-filled week in the Nevada delegation.

Members are openly sniping at each other after Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) successfully added an amendment to the reconciliation bill that would require the sale of public lands in Clark and other counties that he does not represent.

You can read all about that in my story from Wednesday, and we’ll be covering it closely as the reconciliation process takes shape.

In the meantime, with primaries a little more than a year out, let’s take an early look at how the 2026 House races are shaping up.

The News of the Week: 2026 primaries

For four straight election cycles, Republicans have come up empty in the three Las Vegas-area House seats.

Some of their woes can be attributed to candidate quality: Who can forget Dan Rodimer, the 2020 candidate in Congressional District 3 who is currently facing murder charges? 

But their biggest obstacle may be the map that Democrats in the Legislature drew in 2021, moving voters from the formerly safe Congressional District 1 into Districts 3 and 4 to shore up Rep. Susie Lee and Rep. Steven Horsford’s (D-NV) seats. That redistricting made a big difference in 2024 for Lee, who was able to hang onto her seat even though President Donald Trump won her district.

All three Nevada Democrats are on the National Republican Campaign Committee’s (NRCC) target list for 2026, but both Democrats and Republicans know that if there’s one that’s going to flip, it will be Lee’s. 

To that end, Lee has already drawn six Republican challengers. The best-funded one is Marty O’Donnell, the video game composer who ran in 2022 and finished fourth in the primary. This time around, O’Donnell announced about a year earlier in the cycle than last time and has already put $1 million of his own money into the race.

Other candidates for Congressional District 3 include:

• Christopher Brandlin, a lawyer and former bodybuilder in the mold of Health & Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Brandlin follows the carnivore diet and represents fellow meat-eaters in court, and travels between Las Vegas and California, where his law practice is.
• Tera Anderson, an asset development manager who has worked on development in Las Vegas and ran in the Las Vegas mayoral primary in 2024, receiving 4 percent of the vote. 
• Aury Nagy, a Las Vegas neurosurgeon.
• Steven London, a Bitcoin supporter and former controller at the Better Business Bureau.
• Lucena Parker

Districts 1 and 4 are likely less competitive — even in a strong year for Republicans, Reps. Dina Titus (D-NV) and Horsford were able to improve on their margins from 2022 to 2024.

Each has attracted at least one retread challenger so far. David Flippo, an Air Force veteran who ran in 2024 but lost narrowly to former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, has announced another bid for Horsford’s seat.

In addition, Aaron Hill, the director of information technology support at the Fontainebleau, and Cody Whipple, a former college football player and small business owner, have registered to run in Congressional District 4.

Titus, meanwhile, may face a former Horsford challenger — former Assm. Jim Marchant. Marchant has unsuccessfully run for Congressional District 4, secretary of state and U.S. Senate.

Marchant’s old Assembly district is part of Horsford’s congressional district. And the address he listed when he ran for secretary of state would indicate that he lives in Lee’s district — though Nevada law does not require candidates to live in the district they are running in.

Titus has drawn one other challenger — systems engineer Roy Gurner.

Around the Capitol

💧Walker River Paiute Tribe left dry — A month ago, the Walker River Paiute Tribe learned that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suspended a $20 million grant awarded by the Biden administration for the tribe to build out water infrastructure for running afoul of its anti-DEI policies.

On May 1, the EPA officially terminated the grant. Without those funds, the Walker River Paiute Tribe, which had already put $2 million into its water looping project to improve water pressure and supply, cannot continue work. 

☀️Amodei signals solar support — Amodei and 10 other Republicans sent a letter to Ways & Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) supporting two Inflation Reduction Act tax credits critical to the solar industry: 48E and 45Y. 

It’s another example of Amodei — who was joined mostly by moderates representing swing districts — trying to protect the clean energy industry from his own party, which seeks to generate revenue by eliminating some tax credits that Democrats passed in 2022.

🎨Trump administration cuts arts grants in Nevada — Several organizations in Nevada have lost tens of thousands of dollars in canceled grants supporting the arts in the state.

As part of its effort to shut down the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the Trump administration terminated hundreds of arts grants around the country. In Nevada, that included:

• $30,000 for the Artown festival in Reno this summer
• $20,000 to UNLV to support a summer writing residency program

✉️Western governors articulate federal priorities — The Western Governors Association provided appropriators in Washington with testimony on bipartisan priorities that governors across the West want funded. They include investments in water infrastructure, wildfire fighting resources and rural development.

What I’m Reading

Business Insider: I’m a Republican CEO. I’m adding a ‘tariff tax’ to my price tags so customers know why prices are rising.

Jared Fisher, who ran for governor in 2018, owns a tourism agency and bike shops in Nevada.

The Nevada Independent: Amodei explains why he moved to sell some Nevada lands to backfill GOP cuts, infuriating Dems

Critics include all of the Nevada Democrats in the delegation, conservationists and the Clark County Commission.

NPR: Asian American voters backed Trump in Nevada. Here’s how they feel about him now

So far, so good with those that NPR interviewed.

Notable and Quotable

“I’m not trying to be a land king in Clark County by any means.”

— Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), on his amendment to sell public lands in Clark County