As Reno’s 2026 mayoral race takes shape, campaign finance filings offer one of the clearest signals of political momentum. A comparison of Devon Reese’s 2024 and 2025 fundraising reports — alongside Kathleen Taylor’s 2025 filings — reveals a notable shift: Reese raised significantly less money in 2025 than in 2024, while a meaningful share of his earlier donors either sat out or reappeared backing Taylor.
Reese has been sending out campaign emails every week for months. His message does not align with the data from the C&E report, and traffic to his website is low, indicating a lack of interest by voters and donors. You can click on the image to visit Reese’s campaign site.
Reese raised less in 2025 than in 2024
The topline numbers are unambiguous.
Devon Reese 2024 (full year):
Total contributions (cash + in-kind): $178,086
Ending cash balance: $95,343
Devon Reese 2025 (full year):
Total contributions (cash + in-kind): $129,726
Ending cash balance: $80,688
That is a drop of roughly $48,000 year-over-year, despite 2025 being close to the 2026 mayoral election and despite Reese’s incumbency advantage as a sitting councilmember.
Link to Contributions and Expense - Reese 2025
Link to Contributions and Expense - Reese 2024
In campaign finance terms, this is directional. Strong candidates typically accelerate fundraising as the race matures. Reese’s filings show the opposite: a decline.
Despite the enthusiastic wording in the email, this search engine tool estimates that only 75 visitors per month visit Reese’s campaign website. Click on the image to visit the site.
Ethics commission reopens Reno Council member Devon Reese’s first ethics complaint after new investigation - This is Reno
The reason why traffic to Reese’s campaign spiked in January 2025 was due to articles about his ethics violations, not interest in his campaign. See the “This is Reno” article linked above.
Donors who gave to Reese in 2024 but not in 2025
Several donors who supported Reese in 2024 do not appear in his 2025 filing. These are not small-dollar contributors; they are meaningful checks.
Business and individual donors who dropped off
Frank T. Suryan — $5,000 (2024) CEO of Lyon Living
Peter Zak — $2,500 (2024) Reno developer with Silverwing Development
Herbert Simon — $3,000 (2024) Real Estate Developer and Ballpark owner
Lewis Roca — $500 (2024) Law firm
Duncan Golf Management — $1,000 (2024) associated with Lakeridge Golf
None of these donors appear in Reese’s 2025 Contributions and Expense report.
Political and cycle-specific donors who disappeared
Nevada Republic Alliance
UA Local 350 PAC
Nevada Senate Victory 2024
Northern Nevada Marches Forward
Committee to Elect Aaron Ford
These organizations were active in the 2024 election cycle but did not return in 2025.
Possible Interpretation: Donors view Reese as a risky bet and are looking for a steadier candidate, which may explain why some donors went to Taylor.
Donors who stayed with Reese
Reese did not lose all institutional backing. Several donors supported him in both 2024 and 2025:
McDonald Carano (Government Affairs / Law)
Wood Rodgers (Engineering/Planning)
Sunny Hills Ranchos (Developer)
Heinz Ranch Land Company (developer)
Preston Lyon (Developer)
Gregory Lansing (Developer)
These donors represent: land-use, development, legal, and government relations. Their continued support suggests they maintain ties to Reese, likely due to ongoing projects where they needed Reese’s vote.
Donors who gave to Reese and to Taylor
A comparison of Reese’s 2024 donors and Taylor’s 2025 donors shows substantial overlap among institutional players.
These donors gave to Reese in 2024 and Taylor in 2025:
Wood Rodgers - engineering firm
McDonald Carano - law firm
Sunny Hills Ranchos - developer
Heinz Ranch Land Company - developer
Preston Lyon - developer
Gregory Lansing - developer
This is hedging. These donors did not exit city politics; they diversified their bets as the mayor’s race became more heated.
Link to Contributions and Expense - Taylor 2025
Donors who skipped Reese in 2025 but backed Taylor
More telling are donors who did not give to Reese in 2025 but did give to Taylor. Examples include:
Frank T. Suryan (Reese 2024 → Taylor 2025)
Peter Zak (Reese 2024 → Taylor 2025)
Herbert Simon (Reese 2024 → Taylor 2025)
Lewis Roca (Reese 2024 → Taylor 2025)
Expanded development and construction donors who appear only in Taylor’s 2025 filing
Taylor’s donor list also shows heavier casino and resort participation in 2025 — Peppermill, Bonanza, Boomtown, Circus & Eldorado JV, Club Cal Neva — sectors that were comparatively muted in Reese’s 2024 report.
Possible Interpretation: Taylor is increasingly absorbing the same donor class Reese relied on in 2024, while also expanding into gaming and construction at scale.
What changed between 2024 and 2025
Putting it together:
2024 Reese
Higher total fundraising than in 2025
Significant Democratic cycle money
Party committees and PACs
Broad but somewhat diffuse coalition
2025 Reese
Lower total fundraising
Narrower donor base
Reliance on fundraising consultants
Core establishment support, but less breadth
2025 Taylor
Higher total raised than Reese
Large war chest retained
Strong development, gaming, and legal backing
Donors overlapping directly with Reese’s earlier base
The strategic takeaway
This data suggests something more subtle — and critical: Reno’s institutional donor class is no longer treating Reese as the establishment option in the mayor’s race, despite the endorsement from Mayor Schieve.
Donors are hedging. Some are splitting support. Others are reallocating entirely. Reese’s fundraising trajectory flattened, while Taylor’s accelerated. In municipal politics, that usually signals a race moving from presumed heir to competitive contest.
Why this matters to voters
Campaign finance reveals who believes in a candidate early.
Right now, the money says:
Reese has a shrinking base
Taylor is consolidating momentum
Institutional players are preparing for multiple outcomes
A new candidate might take the lead
This shows people in power are responding to uncertainty.
Let's all practice: "Congratulations Mayor Taylor."
Her one page website is clean and crisp and approachable, and full to the brim with her years of public service, long standing ties to Reno, myriad accomplishments and vision for Reno's future. She strikes me as a nice person with a nice smile saying nice things in a nice way. She apparently likes dogs.
From her website, she's gonna:
* Listen to "all of us"
* Clean up downtown
* Balance the budget
* Make housing safe and affordable
* Bring in lots of high paying jobs
* Reduce crime
* Fund the arts
So something for everybody! (Note to self: Aren't these the promises made by every politician in every race all across the land?)
My preference leans away from the mushy middle, gets along with everyone, "nice" type and more towards a Trumpian, paradigm shift, art-of-the-deal swamp slayer. So put me down as a skeptic. But at least she's not facing disciplinary charges. Adios Devon.....
Reese is a sack of shit. Definitely don’t vote for him.