Ensign, Bernstein call fund raising a grass-roots effort

Tuesday, Feb. 1, 2000 | 10:40 a.m.

U.S. Senate candidates John Ensign and Ed Bernstein say their most recent campaign finance reports show they are getting a lot of support from new and small contributors.

The big difference is that Ensign, a former two-term congressman, has out-raised Bernstein, a Las Vegas attorney, by a 5-to-1 margin.

"It has been extremely rewarding to successfully reach out and gain so many new supporters," Ensign said in a news release, announcing that on Monday he filed with the Federal Elections Commission a report showing that through Dec. 31 he raised more than $2 million.

"We have dedicated ourselves to a grass-roots campaign."

Republican Ensign, a veterinarian who narrowly lost to Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., in his last bid for office, said that more than 1,000 contributors who were not involved in his 1998 Senate race are now financially supporting him. He said there have been more than 2,500 contributors to his campaign.

Democrat Bernstein, who according to his campaign finance report raised more than $400,000 in the first 45 days of what he is calling an exploratory bid for the U.S. Senate, said 90 percent of those contributions came from individuals.

"After a month and a half of fund raising, this is just the tip of the iceberg," Bernstein said in a Monday news release. "This very early stage of fund raising has been tremendously promising, and I couldn't be happier with the strong grass-roots support I am receiving all over Nevada."

In the House of Representatives race, Democratic incumbent Shelley Berkley has raised nearly $950,000. She had spent $207,000 in operating expenditures through the end of last year.

Berkley received $617,326 from individuals and $330,480 from Political Action Committees and businesses. She had $761,202 cash on hand as of Jan. 1.

"I made a promise to the people of Southern Nevada to do a good job, and I think my fund raising reflects that," Berkley said in a statement released today. "To me, successful fund raising means people believe in you and believe in what you are trying to accomplish on their behalf.

"I am especially proud of the fact that the majority of my contributions come from small-dollar donors."

A campaign finance report from Republican congressional candidate Jon Porter, a state senator from Henderson, was not immediately available today.

Ensign's report showed that by the start of the year he had just under $1.8 million in cash on hand -- more than twice what he had at the same time in his race against Reid. To date, he has raised $2,031,893 and spent $343,022.

Ensign has received $721,154 from PACs and businesses and $1,305,798 from individuals.

Bernstein, meanwhile, has raised $400,075 and spent $16,694. Here received $355,565 from individuals and the rest from PACs and businesses. He started the year with $383,381 cash on hand.

The two are seeking the seat of retiring Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev.

Bernstein, who still hasn't officially announced he is a candidate, began campaigning after Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa dropped out last fall.