Outside spending ramps up in Nevada’s tight Democratic presidential race

Nevadans prepare: You're in the midst of a bombardment like none other.

The airwaves are flooded with political ads, and it will only continue in the days to come.

Presidential candidates are visiting so often that they're practically Nevada residents.

The nation's first-in-the-West Democratic caucus — and the party's third early voting state — will be held in Nevada on Saturday. The race is tight between Hillary Clinton and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. A CNN/ORC poll of 282 Nevada Democrats likely to caucus found that 48 percent backed Clinton, while 47 percent supported Sanders, with a margin of error of 6 percentage points.

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state and senator, had the early advantage of name recognition. She first rose to the national stage when her husband, Bill Clinton, won the presidency in 1992. But in her first two campaign tests this year, she has struggled against Sanders. She narrowly won the Iowa caucuses while in New Hampshire Sanders got 60.4 percent of the vote.

Nevada will be a test for both candidates. The state's electorate — nearly 28 percent Hispanic in 2014 — will show if Sanders can connect with an ethnically diverse electorate.

Meanwhile, Clinton has the advantage of starting sooner. Her Nevada campaign began in April, while Sanders didn't start opening offices here until the fall.

Supporters for Clinton and Sanders see an opportunity. So do supporters of Republican candidates within a wide field of six contenders. The Republican caucus in Nevada is Tuesday. It will be the fourth early contest for the GOP, following Saturday's South Carolina primary.

Outside super PAC spending on the presidential race in Nevada has hit $6 million, according to Federal Election Commission data Thursday. About $4.5 million of that money went to candidates who are still in the race.

This cash infusion is growing as groups buy ads for and against candidates and put people on the ground to knock on doors and canvass voters in the waning days before the caucuses.

For example, National Nurses United, a nurses union, planned to place about 200 nurses on the ground through Saturday to tout Sanders, who they have endorsed. Some of the nurses were bused into Las Vegas on Wednesday.

"It's a good opportunity for us to get Bernie's message out to everybody," said Kathy Donohue, a registered nurse and vice president of the organization.

Some stood on a pedestrian bridge on the Strip between the Bellagio and Bally's with a lit-up sign: "Nurses for Bernie."

The union's political action committee already has spent $141,494 on the race in Nevada.

Clinton supporters are preparing to canvass, too. Helga Flores, 48, from Washington, D.C., said the Clinton campaign is her first as a volunteer.

Flores said the difference between Clinton and her opponent is that Clinton has been with the Latino community from the beginning. Flores said she trusts Clinton, "not from what she says, but what she does."

By law, super PACs do independent spending without any coordination with candidate campaigns. But the money trail shows the outside spending to help candidates before the caucuses.

Service Employees International Union's Committee on Political Education, which backs Clinton, has spent $423,043 in Nevada for such things as radio and TV advertising, canvassing, rally signs, direct mail and T-shirts.

Those efforts are paying off: The group has gained more than 10,000 commitments to caucus, recruiting nearly 60 precinct captains, SEIU officials said.

The largest outside spender so far is Right to Rise USA, the top super PAC that supports former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's bid for the GOP nomination. The group has spent $1.52 million in Nevada, including direct mail and advertising.

Of the $4.5 million, $3.8 million has gone to support candidates. Another $700,473 has been used to oppose candidates, including direct mail, advertising, phone calls and field work.

That spending shows which candidates are widely perceived as the biggest threats. The candidate attracting the most opposition spending so far is U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. Amost half of the opposition spending overall, $307,592, has been directed against Rubio, filings show.

Groups directing spending against Rubio are Courageous Conservatives PAC, Keep the Promise I, Right to Rise USA and the SEIU Committee on Political Education. Courageous Conservatives PAC and Keep the Promise I both back U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

— Alex Corey contributed to this report. Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1