A Democratic senator in the swing state of Nevada is heavily relying on wealthy out-of-state contributors to fuel her 2024 reelection bid, documents reveal.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who has faced scrutiny from conservatives and watchdog groups for spending major campaign cash at luxury resorts, received roughly 9% of her total year-end fundraising haul, covering October 2023 to December 2023, from Nevada-based donors, according to Federal Election Commission filings. A staggering 45% of the $3.2 million the senator raised came from donors combined in Washington, D.C., California, and New York.
The newly released campaign finance disclosures could become a liability for Rosen and are likely to be cited by Republicans as further evidence she does not adequately represent her constituents. Over the years, groups affiliated with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have spent money on advertisements painting Rosen as out of touch for voting against tax cuts. Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, a Republican, is running to unseat Rosen with the support of Senate Republican leadership.
“Nevada is once again a top battleground state this cycle, and we are building the strong grassroots campaign needed to share Jacky Rosen’s record as one of the most bipartisan and effective senators delivering for our state,” Rosen campaign manager Stewart Boss said.
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Brown campaign manager Faith Jones said the fact Rosen is “taking millions of dollars from seemingly everywhere but Nevada” may be “why she so often votes against the best interests of our state.” Brown notably received more than 28% of his year-end haul from Nevada, followed by 11.6% from Texas and 9.24% each from Minnesota and California, FEC records show.
The Rosen campaign said just about 630 of the 4,964 year-end donations to Brown came from Nevada, asserting, “MAGA Republicans are fighting each other in a messy and expensive primary that’s proving just how out of step they are with hardworking Nevadans.”
Rosen, who represented Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District in the House between 2017 and 2019, received 26%, or $426,000, of her year-end campaign cash from California. One $6,600 donor to the senator from the Golden State in December 2023 was Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer for Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
Sandberg’s single largest donation to date was $416,100 in 2016 to support Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. She also directed more than $600,000 combined between 2015 and 2023 to Women Vote, a super PAC affiliated with the feminist advocacy group EMILY’s List.
Rosen also scored $2,000 from Brian Rice, vice president of public policy for Meta. Other donors to the senator included Bian Capital CEO Daniel Yomtobian, Tinder co-founder Sean Rad, Palantir Technologies Executive Vice President Josh Harris, and Google Senior Vice President Jennifer Fitzpatrick, among others.
Kate Capshaw, the wife of film director Steven Spielberg, cut a $6,600 check to Rosen’s campaign in December 2023, according to filings. Capshaw previously steered $5,400 in 2018 to the Rosen campaign.
“The fact that so few Nevadans are donating to her campaign shows the immense disconnect she has from working Nevada families, the people she claims to represent,” said Jones, Brown’s campaign manager. “Who does Jacky Rosen answer to? Follow the money.”
The Nevada Senate race is expected to be competitive. A December 2023 survey sponsored by the Democratic Future Majority found Rosen leading Brown 39% to 38% in a matchup.
A prior poll of likely Nevada voters, which was commissioned by the National Republican Senatorial Committee late last year, showed Rosen beating Brown 45% to 40%. Senate Majority PAC, the largest outside group focused on electing Democrats to the upper chamber, has plans to spend at least $36 million on early advertisements in connection to Nevada, Politico reported.
Rosen has voted with President Joe Biden roughly 93% of the time since 2021, which may become a talking point for Republicans who have been harping on the president’s struggling approval rating of roughly 38.8%. Rosen and other Senate Democrats facing tough 2024 reelections have increasingly been critical on social media of Biden or have called on his administration to address certain policy issues rather than wholly supporting the president, according to the Daily Caller.
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Republicans seeking to unseat Rosen also include ex-Nevada state Rep. Jim Marchant, physician Cornell Clark, former U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jeff Gunter, real estate broker Stephanie Phillips, and other long-shot candidates.
“Nevada has the highest unemployment rate in the country and is among the lowest ranked states for education while having some of the worst inflation rates and gas prices nationwide,” Sam Markstein, national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, told the Washington Examiner. “It’s time for a change, and RJC looks forward to supporting our GOP nominee for U.S. Senate to fire Jacky Rosen this November.”
