Steve Sisolak, center, Clark County Commission chairman and Democratic candidate for Nevada governor, attends during a gubernatorial candidates accountability session with Nevadans for the Common Good at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Summerlin Tuesday, May 8, 2018. STEVE MARCUS
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 | 10 p.m.
Chris Giunchigliani, Clark County commissioner and Democratic candidate for Nevada governor, speaks during a gubernatorial candidates accountability session with Nevadans for the Common Good at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Summerlin Tuesday, May 8, 2018.
Democrat Steve Sisolak has been spending heavily as he battles fellow Clark County commissioner Chris Giunchigliani in a tight primary race for governor, according to campaign finance reports filed late Tuesday.
Sisolak, the chairman of the Clark County Commission, reporting having raised $1.4 million this year through May 18 and spent $5.2 million in that same time frame.
That's in addition to at least $2.1 million he reported having left over from 2017.
Giunchigliani, a former state Assembly member and middle school special education teacher, reported having raised more than $810,000 and spent about $1 million during the first months of the year.
Her last campaign finance reports filed in January indicated she was already sitting on at least $600,000 carried over from 2017.
Sisolak reported tens of thousands of contributions from various Station Casinos resorts and companies associated with Jim Rhodes, the developer behind a plan to build homes near scenic Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area outside Las Vegas, a plan that the candidates have clashed over.
Giunchigliani collected a handful of six-figure checks, including one from the Westgate Las Vegas resort and casino.
Eric Hyers, Giunchigliani's campaign manager, said his candidate is getting more grassroots donations "while Sisolak is funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars of big corporate special interest and developer money."
"Chris is running to build a Nevada that works for everyone, not just the well-connected few," Hyers said in a statement.
Sisolak's campaign did not immediately offer a comment on the reports Wednesday.
Sisolak and Giunchigliani, who will also face a handful of lesser-known Democrats in the June 12 primary, are facing off in one of Nevada's hardest-fought primaries this summer. The candidates have been released a volley of television ads critical of each other, in addition to pitching their progressive credentials.
Attorney General and front-runner for the Republican nomination Adam Laxalt reported raising almost $1.9 million so far in 2018 and spending only about $730,000. He's not yet launched a major TV ad blitz like Sisolak and Giunchigliani, and his campaign said in a statement he had more than $4.2 million in his account as of May 18.
"I am deeply honored and grateful for the incredible support this campaign continues to attract, and I am truly inspired by the way my vision for Nevada's future continues to resonate with the people of our great state," Laxalt said in a statement.
His contributions included $30,000 from companies owned by billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson, along with $20,000 combined from the Westgate Las Vegas casino-resort and its owner David Siegel.
Laxalt's main competitor for the GOP nomination, state Treasurer Dan Schwartz, reported raising about $66,000 — most of which was a $60,000 loan from the candidate himself.
Schwartz spent $419,000 during the first four and a half months of the year, and ended 2017 with at least $247,000, according to his last campaign report filed in January.
"As promised, I've taken no money from lobbyists or political insiders," Schwartz said. "That puts me at a decided disadvantage to my opponents, but it's time Nevada's leaders put a stop to the 'bought-and-paid-for' political culture that has metastasized in Carson City."
In addition to Laxalt and Schwartz, half a dozen other Republicans are running to be their party's nominee, with the hope of replacing term-limited Gov. Brian Sandoval.
Early voting in the race starts Saturday and runs through June 8.
