By GABE STERN Associated Press/Report for America
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Republican Secretary of State candidate Jim Marchant is the only statewide candidate in Nevada who has yet to file his campaign finance report, having missed Monday’s deadline.
A central duty of the secretary of state’s office is administering elections, handling campaign finance reports and enforcing reporting deadlines for contribution and expenditure reports. The secretary of state also registers corporations and limited liability companies and represents the third highest ranking state official behind the governor and lieutenant governor.
Marchant’s campaign did not immediately respond to an email request for comment Tuesday. The secretary of state’s office declined to comment.
Campaign reporting deadlines normally fall on the 15th of the month for April, July, October and January. But since it fell on a Saturday this month, the deadline was moved to Monday at 5 p.m.
Marchant had not filed by late afternoon Tuesday.
If the report is filed one to seven days late, the candidate must pay a $25 daily fee. For eight to 15 days late, the penalty is $50 a day. And if the report is filed more than 15 days late, it is $100 a day the up to a maximum of $10,000.
Marchant is among the America First Secretary of State Coalition candidates who deny the legitimacy of the 2020 election and vow to scrap early voting and vote-counting tabulators.
Standing next to former President Donald Trump at a rally in rural Nevada this month, Marchant said if his coalition is elected, “we’re going to fix the whole country. And President Trump is going to be president again in 2024.”
Through the first two reporting periods that span from January 1 to June 30, Marchant raised more than $301,000 and spent nearly $328,000. More than half his contributions came from himself. He had a balance of nearly $15,200 at the end of June.
His opponent, Democrat Cisco Aguilar, raised more than $647,000 and spent $205,400 through June 30. Aguilar submitted his report from this period on time, which runs from July 1 to September 30. That report shows he raised an additional $1.15 million and spent $554,000 through Sep. 30. Some of his biggest donors include Wynn Resorts and the Bellagio Hotel and Casino.
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Stern is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Stern on Twitter: @gabestern326.
