* Taking a look at the money chase in the pre-primary primaries…
* Reporters for the Nevada Independent took a close look at the fundraising totals for Nevada’s congressional races based on 2023 year-end figures. Some highlights for Republicans…
* First, the U.S. Senate race, where Sam Brown outraised all his announced primary opponents by a factor of 8 to 1 or better.
* Brown raised $1.85 million in the 4th quarter, with $1.7 million cash on hand at the end of the year. None of his primary challengers reported more than $60,000 cash on hand.
* However, Brown also reports debt of some $600,000 due to various political consultants.
* Jeff Gunter, seen as the candidate most likely to compete financially against the establishment-backed Brown, raised only $215,000 in the 4th quarter and has but $29,000 left in the bank – though he said he intends to seed his campaign with an additional $225,000 loan.
* Jim Marchant reportedly raised just $160,000 for the quarter, but spent $138,000 of it, including $67,000 for a swanky fundraising event at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
* Tony Grady raised $36,000. Stephanie Phillips raised $11,000. Both would be disappointing in a State Assembly race, let alone a U.S. Senate race. Both should look for other races to get into before filing opens in March.
* Let’s face it, this GOP primary is all but over – unless Gunter can swing an endorsement from Trump sometime soon. But that doesn’t appear likely. Only 7 Nevadans contributed to Gunter’s campaign, indicating soft to non-existent support among Nevada voters.
* The numbers just aren’t there for Trump to stick his neck out that far, especially since every candidate he endorsed in Nevada in 2022 lost.
* In House races…
* Fleming Larsen is swamping the field in the 1st congressional district. He raised $77,000 in the 4th quarter but has loaned his campaign $1.25 million. His nearest GOP competitor, Mark Robertson, raised just $7,000.
* A third candidate in the race, newcomer Michael Boris, raised $25,000 but reported having only $234 cash on hand.
* In CD3, Elizabeth Halseth Helgelien raised around $50,000, while her nearest competitor, Drew Johnson, reported raising just $13,700. Again, some state Assembly candidates have reported raising more.
* A newcomer to the race, perennial candidate Dan Schwartz, didn’t announce until after the end of the year but has pledged to put $1 million of his own money into the campaign.
* In CD4, Dave Flippo reported raised $407,000. But $400,000 came out of his own pocket. As with Gunter, that demonstrates a serious lack of interest among Nevada voters and donors.
* Flippo’s GOP opponent, former North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee, raised more than $122,000 in the 4th quarter. But remember, Lee loaned his gubernatorial campaign over $1 million in 2022, so he has the financial resources to augment his campaign if he chooses to do so – and he will.
* Republican incumbent Rep. Mark Amodei in CD2 is currently running unopposed. He raised $140,000 in the 4th quarter and has $411,000 cash on hand.
* So in the pre-primary primary – the Money Chase – Sam Brown is running away with it in the U.S. Senate race, Fleming Larsen is clearly the front-runner in CD1 and likely nominee, CD3 is a basket case for Republicans, and CD4 remains Lee’s race to lose – highly unlikely.
* Final note…
* Columnist David Colborne wrote today that “we should stop declaring people to be illegal because they were born on the wrong side of a border.”
* Um, no. We don’t call them illegal because they were born on the wrong side of the border. We call them illegal after they illegally cross the border into our country. Big difference.
FAMOUS LAST WORDS
“New York City District Attorney Alvin Bragg is defending his decision to let the illegals go who allegedly beat up NYPD officers, says the video evidence wasn’t enough. Insane. The illegal immigrants involved in the incident have since reportedly fled to CA.” – Collin Rugg
Mr. Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, publisher of Nevada News & Views, and founder of CampaignDoctor.com. You can sign up for his conservative, Nevada-focused e-newsletter at MuthsTruths.com. His views are his own.