Campaigns in Nevada’s 3rd Congressional District getting hefty outside help

Eight months before the Nov. 4 general election, Nevada’s most competitive congressional contest is heating up.

Last week, Americans for Prosperity launched its second TV ad praising U.S. Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., who is running for his third term. He represents the 3rd Congressional District in Southern Nevada, including Henderson and most of unincorporated Clark County. The seat has switched parties several times since its creation after the 2000 Census.

The 30-second commercial thanks Heck for opposing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare. The ad is running for two weeks at a cost of about $200,000, according to an insider.

In the ad, which can be seen here — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uMoZ07B_dc&feature=youtu.be — Heck is seen speaking on the House floor against Obamacare. His speeches are juxtaposed with words being written in an email to the congressman, an emergency room physician, thanking him for standing up to the president.

“From the start, you’ve been fighting for quality health care reform,” the first email says.

“You didn’t fall for the Obamacare spin,” says another.

On the House floor, Heck says, “If you like your doctor, you can keep him. Period. You all remember when we heard those words?” referencing Obama’s frequent promise, which turned out to be false.

Heck adds, “Let’s give the American people the health care they deserve.”

“Thank you for fighting Obamacare and working for what we really need,” the final email says.

No where in the ad is there a mention of Erin Bilbray, the Democratic political consultant challenging Heck.

That didn’t stop Bilbray from attacking the group and its top financial backers, billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

“They are starting already,” she wrote in an email to supporters. “We just got word that the Koch brothers’ far-right SuperPAC, Americans for Prosperity, is launching an ad campaign in our district — starting on Monday. We can be sure this nearly $350,000 in ads will be just a drop in the bucket of what they will spend to try to beat me.”

It might be no coincidence that U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., a powerful promoter of Bilbray’s, attacked the Koch brothers on the Senate floor last week, calling them “un-American.” The Senate majority leader also is perhaps even more worried about Americans for Prosperity’s spending on Senate races as Republicans try to retake control in the 2014 elections.

Americans for Prosperity has spent $27 million on six Senate races as of mid-February, according to The Washington Post. Reid said Republicans “are addicted to Koch,” a play on the pronunciation of the brothers’ last name, which sounds like coke, street slang for cocaine, and like the soft drink, Coke.

Reid also might be trying to discredit the Kochs in case they go after him when he runs for re-election in 2016 as planned. Heck, by the way, is seen as a possible Reid opponent for the U.S. Senate that year.

While Bilbray played defense last week, she also got a big offensive boost when she was named to the national Democrats’ “Red to Blue” program, or the effort to flip Republican-held congressional districts to Democratic-held seats.

Bilbray was one of 16 candidates nationally named to the program so far by Steve Israel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Ten of those candidates are women, a record, Israel said.

Those picked in competitive districts met certain goals for fundraising and organization. Joining the program means Bilbray will have access to national Democratic “financial, communications, grassroots, and strategic support.”

“Erin Bilbray is a proud product of Southern Nevada and a problem-solver who is dedicated to standing up for average families, protecting the middle class and working across the aisle on common-sense solutions,” Israel said in a statement. “Erin will hold Congressman Joe Heck accountable for his out-of-step agenda that is hurting average Nevada families and she will work to create jobs and expand opportunity.”

Watch for this race to get super red-hot come fall.

— Laura Myers

A GOVERNOR UNSHACKLED

Ah, being governor of Nevada can be a pretty heady experience.

You get invited to the White House to chat with President Barack Obama. You get to meet with fellow governors in Washington, D.C., and talk policy. And you get to make history by signing the first state-to-state online poker compact — in this case between Nevada and Delaware.

Last week, Gov. Brian Sandoval was talking about his late February travels when he spoke at the Nevada Taxpayers Association’s 92nd annual luncheon. It was held on Tuesday at The Orleans in the hotel-casino’s convention center’s Mardi Gras room, of course, because these people know how to party.

In the audience of more than 300 lawmakers and business leaders were former Nevada Govs. Robert List, Richard Bryan and Bob Miller, who each knows what it’s like to wield power as the state’s top government official.

Sandoval told the group he recently returned from Washington, D.C., where he attended the National Governors Association meeting and had dinner at the White House. He also met with Vice President Joe Biden and sat down with Obama and six other governors to talk about the drought and wildfire dangers in the West.

“I had an opportunity to meet with almost all of the Cabinet members,” Sandoval said.

Then he went to Delaware to sign the online poker compact with Gov. Jack Markell.

“I was feeling pretty good about myself,” said Sandoval, who seemed to stand taller in his typical dark suit.

Then came the airport experience.

Sandoval was traveling from Wilmington, Del., to Baltimore, Md., trying to catch a plane and beat a big storm coming in. His security detail was with him, a man who carries a gun as part of his job.

The airport gate agent was suspicious, Sandoval said, and asked his security man, “Who are you escorting?”

“And he (the agent) turned to me and said, ‘You know prisoners are supposed to be handcuffed.’”

Yes, we always knew Sandoval, a former judge, has a bit of a criminal look to him, never mind the sharp suit.

The room full of listeners at the luncheon burst into gales of laughter.

“Absolutely, 100 percent true story,” Sandoval said. “So it kind of brought me back to where I should be.”

“I said, ‘I’m really the governor of the state of Nevada so we don’t need the handcuffs,’” he said.

Sandoval is expected to win re-election this year. But if he doesn’t, he might want to try stand-up comedy.

— Laura Myers

SANDOVAL NO. 5 ON GOP VP LIST

Sandoval filed for re-election Friday and said he intends to serve a full four-year term.

Circumstances, however, can sometimes derail the best laid plans.

He could decide to run in 2016 against Reid. The former federal judge could return to the bench, given the right opportunity. He might even be asked to become vice president, depending on the GOP presidential nominee in 2016.

The Washington Post’s Sean Sullivan handicapped the players on Friday and said Sandoval comes in at No. 5 among Republicans most likely to be chosen to join the GOP ticket in two years.

“On paper, the governor of Nevada is just what the GOP needs,” Sullivan wrote. “He’s a popular, moderate Hispanic executive from a swing state. Sandoval is expected to cruise to a second term in November, setting him up well for 2016. But not so fast. He’s pro-abortion rights and expanded Medicaid in his state, two things that won’t sit well with the conservative base. Plus, Sandoval may be eyeing a 2016 Senate run against Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. For all these reasons, we think Sandoval is a long shot. But he’s on the list because few others boast such a stronger overall resume.”

So who are the other contenders? At No. 4, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal; No. 3, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker; No. 2, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida; and the No. 1 pick, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Like Sandoval, she’s a moderate Hispanic and she hasn’t indicated she has any interest in running for president — unlike the other three on the list.

— Laura Myers

Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow her on Twitter @lmyerslvrj.