Pritzker Pours $400K Into Nevada Governor’s Race Against Trump-Endorsed Incumbent

By Illinois Review

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is pouring money into Nevada, targeting a Trump-endorsed Republican governor while simultaneously helping finance an effort to enshrine abortion rights in the swing state’s constitution.

Pritzker contributed $400,000 in September to A More Affordable Nevada PAC, a group backed by the Democratic Governors Association that is working to defeat Trump-endorsed Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.

The contribution comes as Pritzker increasingly flexes his financial muscle outside Illinois and builds a national political profile ahead of a possible 2028 presidential campaign.

Despite that growing national activity, Pritzker continues to register in the low single digits in early Democratic presidential polling, hovering at just 2 percent.

Nevada could prove especially important. The Democratic National Committee has officially placed the state second on its 2028 presidential nominating calendar, with its contest scheduled for Feb. 1 – immediately after South Carolina.

A More Affordable Nevada has sought to tie Lombardo closely to Trump, launching television ads attacking the governor over affordability, tariffs and immigration.

But Pritzker’s Nevada spending does not stop with the governor’s race.

Think Big America, the 501(c)(4) organization founded by Pritzker, contributed another $100,000 to Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, the group backing Question 6. The ballot measure would amend Nevada’s constitution to establish abortion rights.

Nevada voters approved the amendment 64.4 percent to 35.6 percent in 2024, but state law requires citizen-initiated constitutional amendments to win voter approval in two consecutive general elections.

Question 6 returns to the ballot Nov. 3. Abortion is already legal in Nevada through 24 weeks under a voter-approved statute.

Pritzker’s organization has invested heavily in the effort before. Think Big America contributed $1.15 million to Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom during the 2024 campaign before adding another $100,000 in June 2026.

The Nevada spending offers another window into Pritzker’s expanding national political operation: financing Democratic efforts against Trump-backed candidates while directing money toward abortion-rights campaigns in politically important states.

With Nevada positioned near the front of the 2028 Democratic presidential calendar, Pritzker’s spending there places him directly into two major political fights in a state that could play an outsized role in determining the party’s next presidential nominee.