Porter lags in second-quarter fundraising

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., posted disappointing fundraising over the past few months, taking in less campaign cash in the second quarter of 2008 than during the comparable period in the last two election cycles.

Porter's $418,000 collected was also substantially less than the $575,000 raised by his challenger, state Sen. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, in the same time.

But Porter still has more than twice as much cash on hand as Titus, $1.3 million. Titus, who entered the race in April, reported $553,000 in cash on hand.

Porter spokesman Matt Leffingwell called Porter's fundraising "strong," saying, "The congressman continues to be humbled by the consistent financial support he has received."

Porter, he said, would have substantially more funding than Titus to wage the campaign in the next three months. "It's clear we will have the resources necessary to compete with the millions of dollars liberal 527 groups will invest on behalf of Dina Titus," he said, referring to the provision in the tax code that allows independently funded political advocacy groups to operate outside the campaigns.

A spokeswoman for Titus' campaign, however, said the Democrat's brisk fundraising pace was evidence of a desire for change.

"For six years, Jon Porter has voted with President Bush and the special interests, not his constituents," Kirsten Searer, deputy executive director of the state Democratic Party, said in a statement. "Dina is receiving support because she will work to end the Bush-Porter war in Iraq, reduce taxes for middle-class families and work to lower gas prices."

In the campaign finance report due to the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday, Porter reported $417,619 in total contributions for April, May and June, bringing his total for this two-year election cycle to more than $2 million.

During the same period in 2006, Porter's campaign had $514,000 in total receipts. His total for the 2006 election cycle to this point was $2.3 million, and he reported a cash-on-hand total of $1.6 million.

For the second quarter of 2004, Porter reported a fundraising total of $543,000.

In an interview last week about Titus' fundraising, Porter said he was preparing to report better fundraising than last cycle. His campaign said that claim had been based on contributions rather than total receipts.

Porter's total contributions for the second quarter of 2006 came to $279,000, but that was supplemented by a $233,000 transfer from a joint fundraising committee he had formed with Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev.

The race for Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, which includes mostly suburban areas of Clark County, is expected to be one of the most competitive in the country this election season. Formerly evenly divided between the two parties, the district now is home to nearly 25,000 more Democrats than Republicans