Super PAC for nurses backs Sanders

A super PAC tied to a nurses union is putting money into supporting Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and promoting Sanders on billboards in Las Vegas and Reno.

National Nurses United for Patient Protection has spent more than $627,000 toward efforts to support Sanders nationwide, campaign finance data show. Of that amount, $54,683 has gone into advertising efforts in Nevada, including the billboards.

The independent U.S. senator from Vermont has had a firm position on campaign finance reform throughout his campaign, opposing the influence that super PACs funded by outside interests play in presidential races. Super PACs spend money to support or oppose a candidate independently and cannot legally coordinate with a candidate's campaign.

Sanders is running for the Democratic nomination as a populist candidate who rails against the influence and greed of billionaires and Wall Street. He is calling for a variety of reforms in areas beyond campaign finance, such as a raise in the minimum wage, free tuition at public colleges and paid maternity leave. Sanders faces an uphill battle against Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton, who leads in national polls ahead of Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination.

"Unlike others, we have not started a super PAC, are not coordinating with a super PAC, and we have not fundraised for a super PAC," said Jeff Weaver, Sanders's campaign manager. "We stand by our position that we do not want the help of a super PAC."

But that help is coming to Sanders regardless. National Nurses United represents more than 3,000 nurses in Nevada alone and about 185,000 nurses nationwide and funds the super PAC's efforts with union dues.

RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of National Nurses United, drew a distinction between the organization, funded by member dues, and super PACs set up by billionaires solely to support candidates. National Nurses United for Patient Protection existed before Sanders' candidacy and advocates on other issues. The group backs Sanders for a variety of reasons that include his support for an improved, expanded Medicare system, health care for all, and his efforts to get collective bargaining rights for Veterans Affairs nurses.

"We're going to do everything in our power to get him there," DeMoro said. ... "We need to be able to not let billionaires control the political process."

The group's spending is small in Nevada, a state where spending by campaigns and outside groups will only increase before the February caucuses that play a role in determining who gets the Democratic and Republican nominations for president.

There's little Sanders can do legally about PACs that want to spend money to support him, whether they're linked to billionaires or nurses.

"The whole idea of a super PAC is it's supposed to be totally independent of a campaign," said Lawrence Noble, general counsel for the Campaign Legal Center. The nonpartisan group advocates for transparency in campaign finance. "If you truly comply with the law, you have no control of a super PAC."

Contact Ben Botkin at bbotkin@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2904. Find him on Twitter: @BenBotkin1