Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Rosen fundraising topped $26 million, Heller $15 million in Senate race

Rosen

John Locher / AP

Rep. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., right, prepares before a U.S. Senate debate with Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., Friday, Oct. 19, 2018, in Las Vegas.

RENO — Democratic Sen.-elect Jacky Rosen raised more than four times as much money as Republican Sen. Dean Heller in the final weeks of her successful campaign to unseat him in the high-profile race in November, with her total for the election cycle surpassing $26 million to Heller's $15 million.

Democrats Susie Lee and former Rep. Steven Horsford also outspent their GOP opponents by 2-to-1 margins while keeping two key swing congressional seats blue in the Western battleground state, according to final election campaign spending reports the candidates filed late Thursday with the Federal Election Commission.

Heller was the only incumbent GOP senator up for re-election in a state that Democrat Hillary Clinton carried when President Donald Trump won the 2016 election. He reported more than $15 million in total campaign receipts for the election cycle, including $990,656 from Oct. 18 to Nov. 26.

Rosen, a first-term congresswoman from Las Vegas, raised $4.5 million during that period.

Neither candidate reported any debts or loans.

Tarkanian, the son of former UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, originally planned to challenge Heller in a GOP Senate primary but switched directions under pressure from Trump and others.

Lee, an education philanthropist in Las Vegas, spent about $5 million to replace Rosen in the southern Nevada district. She brought in almost $475,000 and spent about $681,000 between Oct. 18 and Nov. 26.

Tarkanian received about $2.5 million during the campaign. Of that, about $283,000 came in during the weeks just before and after the election.

In a rematch of former congressmen between Horsford and Republican Cresent Hardy, Horsford received about $2.26 million in donations during the election cycle, including $403,300 from Oct. 18 to Nov. 26.

First-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Ruben Kihuen decided against seeking re-election amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Hardy, who unseated Horsford in 2014 but lost it two years later to Kihuen, took in about $899,600 during the race. Of that, about $120,100 came in the final reporting period. Hardy spent about $779,900 for the cycle, including $151,800 from Oct. 18 to Nov. 26.

Republican Rep. Mark Amodei and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus faced little opposition in their re-election bids in the safest districts in the state.

Amodei reported total campaign receipts of $1.27 million in defeating Democrat Clint Koble, an Obama-appointee to the U.S. Agriculture Department, in the sprawling 2nd District covering most of northern Nevada. He still had $291,115 cash on hand as of Nov. 26, his FEC report said.

Koble reported total receipts of $156,146 with $553 cash on hand.

Titus of Las Vegas reported receipts of $720,271 and $246,106 cash left at the end of the reporting period in the 1st District. Her Republican foe Joyce Bentley reported raising no money.