Porter nets less for campaign

WASHINGTON -- After virtually emptying his bank account to defend his seat in Congress in the fall, Rep. Jon Porter of Nevada has gotten off to a slow start in getting it refilled.

Porter, who Republicans consider one of their most vulnerable incumbents, raised only $234,927 during the first three months of the year.

His campaign cash in the bank was $235,213 at the end of March, according to a quarterly report his campaign filed over the weekend with the Federal Election Commission.

At this point two years ago, Porter had raised $470,881 and was sitting on a bank account of more than a half million dollars on his way to raising $3 million.

But that was long before Democrat Tessa Hafen, a former press secretary to Sen. Harry Reid, gave Porter a closer race then expected. Porter spent all but $108,000 to get re-elected in November by a 1 point margin.

Although the 2008 election seems far to the horizon, Porter's early numbers will further whet the appetite of Nevada Democrats to take him on anew, after being frustrated by their inability in the past three elections to beat him in a district where voter registration is closely divided, several analysts said.

"They will look at Porter's very narrow margin of victory last fall, his lower than typical cash on hand, national numbers that suggest real problems for Republicans nationally, and they will say this could be our best opportunity," said Amy Walter, who handicaps the House of Representatives for the Cook Political Report, a Washington newsletter.

Democrats have begun searching for a candidates to run against Porter. A party official from Washington was in Las Vegas last week, and has met with Clark County Commission chairman Rory Reid, state Sen. Dina Titus and Richard Perkins, Henderson police chief and a former Assembly speaker.

"Jon Porter is vulnerable and one of our targets," said Fernando Cuevas, a spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

The fundraising fall-off largely can be traced to the fact that Porter and the Republicans are no longer in the House majority, said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"He is in the minority now. What can Republicans get done in the House?" Damore said. "So generally it will be tough for Republicans to scare up money."

Other Republicans posted low numbers. Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona raised only $117,000; Jim Gerlach of Pennsylvania raised $216,000; Deborah Pryce of Ohio raised $208,000.

Porter said he was pleased with his totals. He said his numbers were lower because Republican leaders delayed until June a major "Retain Our Majority" fundraiser where he will gain a share of the donations.

Porter declined to comment on analysts' view that he is at a fundraising disadvantage now as a member of the House minority.

"That is for the political pundits," he said. "I am an aggressive fundraiser. I know how to raise money."

Mike Hesse, Porter's chief of staff, said the lawmaker expects to raise another $3 million to defend the seat in the 2008 election.

"Hold onto your horses for the second quarter," Hesse said.

Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who also won a closer than expected race last fall against Democrat Jill Derby, raised $256,358 during the first quarter and ended it with $247,969 in the bank.

On the other hand, Rep. Shelley Berkley raised $548,603 during the first three months that she and fellow Democrats enjoyed the House majority. Berkley, who did not face major competition past fall, had $1,066,384 in the bank.

Nevada Democrats want to identify a challenger early who might match Porter's fundraising from the get-go, party spokeswoman Kirsten Searer said.

"It is especially important in this case because he has so little cash on hand," Searer said. "Typically Porter has had a lot more power because of the money he had in his coffers."

Searer said Porter's fundraising from PACs dropped from $239,150 during the first three months of 2005 to $161,500 during the same period this year. On the other end of the scale, she said, among the smallest donors, Porter raised only $70.

Hesse said coming off the expensive campaign against Hafen, "we wanted to give our donors a little bit of a break."

Damore said this early in the two-year election cycle, Porter has time to recover his fundraising "if he keeps plugging at it, but the environment is going to be tougher for him.

"We won't know how this race is going to shape up, but if Rory Reid comes in early and says he's the guy (for the Democrats), you will see Porter at every fundraiser in town," he said.