Senate race attracting big bucks from outside Nevada

WASHINGTON -- In a blitz of late spending, outside interest groups have in recent days poured nearly $5.2 million into television, radio and direct-mail advertising aimed at influencing Nevada voters.

The expenditures between Oct. 8 and Oct. 21 bring total outside spending in Nevada's marquee U.S. Senate race to $13.5 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

That spending comes on top of the $42 million that Sen. Harry Reid and his Republican challenger, Sharron Angle, spent through Oct. 15, according to their latest campaign finance reports, released Friday.

"Living in Nevada, you probably can't turn on the TV or listen to the radio without hearing an advertisement about the Senate race from someone or some group," said Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for the nonpartisan center.

The campaigns and outside groups will likely pour millions of dollars more into the race before the Nov. 2 election.

The spending only further underscores the national implications of the showdown between Reid, the Senate majority leader, and Angle, the Tea Party-favored challenger.

Angle raised $3.5 million and Reid $603,703 during the first two weeks of October, according to finance reports.

Since then, Reid has raised at least another $271,291 and Angle at least another $262,595, according to other documents.

Donors gave $38,900 to Reid the day after his Oct. 14 debate with Angle aired nationally on C-SPAN. Among them was New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave $2,400. Corresponding numbers for Angle were not available.

As of Oct. 13, Angle reported $2.7 million in cash on hand, compared with $1.15 million for Reid. Reid's campaign, however, bought television time in advance and said that accounts for the difference. Angle recently spent another $1.5 million for TV ads.

The two campaigns each spent nearly $2.9 million during the period on media buys, primarily for television ads.

Angle also continued to spend heavily on direct mail, while Reid spent $228,000 on polling.

Angle has raised at least $21,733,115 so far, and has spent $18,777,355.

Reid overall has raised $22,934,215, and has spent $23,242,822.

Both campaigns issued statements that essentially repeated their earlier views about the money race.

"Entering the final days of the campaign, we have all the momentum in the polls, in early voting, and in financial support," said Jarrod Agen, a spokesman for Angle's campaign.

Kelly Steele, a spokesman for Reid's campaign, said they were "confident we have the necessary resources to communicate the contrast" between Reid and Angle.

The figures that became available Friday likely are the last glimpse of how the campaigns are spending their money or how much they have in the bank, since the next full reports are not due until after the election.

The Nevada race has drawn most of its campaign cash from outside the state, with Republicans champing at the bit to oust the sitting Senate majority leader and Democrats looking to hold the seat and retain control of the Senate.

Reid "is the king standing on his hill, and there are a lot of people who want to knock him off it," Levinthal said.

Only two Senate races, in Pennsylvania and Colorado, have drawn more independent expenditures than Nevada, according to data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.

Pro-Republican groups overall have spent $7.84 million in Nevada while Pro-Democratic groups have spent $4.08 million. That gives Republicans a $3.7 million advantage.

Independent expenditures made since Oct. 8, however, have been about evenly split between Reid and Angle. Pro-Republican groups spent about $2.36 million on television ads while Democratic groups spent about $2.24 million, according to the center's data.

The largest independent expenditure has been made by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies, a conservative political group created by Republican political operatives Karl Rove and Edward W. Gillespie.

The group plunked down more than $1.1 million for television advertising time between Oct. 8 and Oct. 21, according to the center.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, political arm of the Democratic Party, bought $911,768 in television ad time during the same two-week stretch.

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau reporter Peter Urban at purban@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.