Heck extends money advantage over Bilbray in House race

WASHINGTON — Three weeks before Election Day, Rep. Joe Heck has broadened his financial advantage over challenger Erin Bilbray in the race to represent a portion of Southern Nevada in Congress.

Bilbray, a political consultant and Democratic National committeewoman from Las Vegas, has raised $1.08 million during the race. But Heck, a Republican seeking a third House term, has more than doubled that, with $2.25 million raised, according to the latest campaign reports filed Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.

Heck collected $441,814 in the three months between July and October, and had $1.28 million still available for spending. He drew 44 percent of his contributions from political action committees.

Bilbray raised $172,864 during the same period, and was left with only $110,110 available. Political action committees made up 30 percent of her funding.

Heck and Bilbray are facing off in the 3rd Congressional District that includes Henderson, Boulder City and unincorporated Clark County south and west of Las Vegas. The district is closely divided among Democratic and Republican voters.

Once touted as a possible marquee matchup, the Heck-Bilbray race has fallen off the radar of the national parties and outside interest groups that largely have avoided spending money on advertising. The only poll that has become public was one commissioned by Bilbray in May that showed her trailing by 8 percentage points. She has changed campaign managers twice in a bid to gain traction.

In other federal races:

Democratic Rep. Steven Horsford of Las Vegas raised $274,000 in the past three months seeking a second term representing Nevada’s 4th Congressional District. Political action committees comprised 70 percent of his funding, and he counted $442,000 in cash still available.

Horsford’s challenger, Republican Assemblyman Cresent Hardy of Mesquite, raised $90,959 and had $38,124 still in the bank. At the same time, Hardy reported $31,405 in debt to fundraising and campaign consultants and for printing services, and loaned himself $1,400.

The 4th district is North Las Vegas and northern Clark County, part of Lyon County and all of Esmeralda, Mineral, Lincoln, Nye and White Pine counties.

In the 1st Congressional District comprising the city of Las Vegas and areas surrounding the Strip and McCarran International Airport, Democrat Rep. Dina Titus raised $150,961, including 61 percent from political action committees. She reported $277,358 cash on hand.

Republican challenger Annette Teijeiro, a Las Vegas anesthesiologist, raised $11,237 from July through October, and had $103,837 available. Teijeiro has largely self-funded her campaign through loans totalling $103,024.

Republican Rep. Mark Amodei of Carson City, representing the Northern Nevada 2nd Congressional District, reported raising $211,974, with 48 percent coming from political action committees. He had $301,715 cash on hand.

Democratic candidate Kristen Spees of Incline Village, who formed a campaign in late June, did not file a finance report by the Wednesday deadline, suggesting she has not raised nor spent $5,000 that would trigger a reporting requirement.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.