Nevada election spending snapshot shows Kihuen doing well
Outside spending groups reported more than $200,000 toward supporting or opposing candidates in Nevada over a one-week period that ended Friday, according to expenditures filed with the Federal Election Commission last week.
The election snapshot a little more than two weeks before the June 14 primary shows total expenditures of $238,199.62, with the largest share going to state Sen. Ruben Kihuen, a Democratic candidate in the 4th Congressional District.
The expenditures represent just a sliver of the spending that Nevada will see in the months ahead. Outside spending groups such as super PACs aren’t allowed to coordinate with candidates’ campaigns, but can spend money to persuade voters to support or oppose candidates.
The breakdown:
■ UNITE HERE TIP State and Local Fund, a political action committee, reported three separate expenditures supporting Kihuen: $192,465 for a television ad production and ad time; $40,712.17 for design, printing and mailing materials; and $135 to rent a post office box in Las Vegas. The New York-based PAC is tied to UNITE HERE, a union that represents workers in a variety of industries, including hotels, gaming, food service and transportation.
■ The Conservative Majority Fund, a political action committee based in Virginia, spent $2,599.81 in voter contact calls opposing Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
■ Nevada Advocates for Planned Parenthood Affiliates reported two separate expenditures supporting Lucy Flores, a former assemblywoman and Democratic candidate in the 4th Congressional District. They are $1,130.07 for printing door hangers, and $688.38 as an in-kind contribution of staff time for working phone banks and canvassing that started May 17 and lasts through June 4.
■ Conservative Strikeforce PAC spent $433.30 on phone calls opposing Clinton.
■ Freedom’s Defense Fund spent $151.72 for voter mail in support of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The PAC stresses its commitment to limited government and states, on its website, that Trump “will shake up the political establishment in Washington.”
■ VIGOP, the Virgin Islands Republican Party, paid $35.89 for voter mail opposing Clinton.
Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Follow @BenBotkin1 on Twitter.
