Fonken, who grew up on a horse farm in Arkansas, has won endorsements from Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom and state Sen. Edgar Flores (D-Las Vegas). On Wednesday, his campaign released 50 new endorsements, many from Reno activists.

Fonken said in an interview with The Nevada Independent that since his campaign launch in January, he’s mostly been focused on talking to voters while doing some behind-the-scenes planning for fundraising and events.

“This comes down to folks wanting to vote for someone they see themselves in,” he said.

Nevada’s congressional races are quickly becoming contests between incumbents and wealthy challengers bankrolling their own campaigns, with one exception, new campaign finance filings reveal.