Rep. Berkley retains her House seat

Greg Tuttle

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2000 | 11:24 a.m.

Predictions of a close race between incumbent Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley and Republican state Sen. Jon Porter for Nevada's 1st Congressional District fell short of reality Tuesday as Berkley jumped to an early lead and held on through the evening to assure herself a return trip to Capitol Hill.

Berkley survived a late push by Porter in the last weeks of the campaign in which polls showed him gaining ground against the well-known incumbent, but it was not enough to put the former Boulder City mayor over the top.

Berkley won the closely watched congressional race by garnering 52 percent of the ballots to Porter's 44 percent.

Berkley attributed her victory Tuesday to her stand on important issues that she said best reflects the residents of Southern Nevada.

"I believe I'm solid on the issues the people care about," Berkley said after giving her acceptance speech. "The people that I represent recognize that I am working very hard on their behalf in Congress."

Porter said he was disappointed in the loss but proud of his campaign.

"We started out as the underdogs with zero name recognition and limited funding," Porter said late Tuesday. "I'm just really proud of all the volunteers who worked on this campaign."

Berkley, 49, won the House seat vacated in 1998 by Republican John Ensign by beating former Clark County District Court Judge Don Chairez. Prior to holding the congressional seat, she served for eight years as a member of the Board of Regents. She also served in the Assembly between 1983 and 1985.

Porter, 45, will return to the state Senate, where he has served since 1995. An insurance agent, Porter served 10 years on the Boulder City Council, including four years as mayor, prior to being elected to state office.

Three other candidates on the ballot for the House seat made little impact on the outcome. W.G. "Swannie" Swenson, the Citizens First candidate, Charles Schneider of the Libertarian Party, and Independent American Party candidate Christopher H. Hansen combined to receive about 4 percent of the ballots.

Porter and Berkley spent heavily during the campaign, most of which came in the form of television advertisements in the final weeks leading up to the election.

According to the Federal Election Commission, Berkley had spent about $1.7 million as of Oct. 18, the latest date before the election in which candidates are required to report campaign revenues and expenditures. She had raised about $1.9 million during the course of the campaign, leaving her coffers with a healthy balance of about $200,000.

Porter had raised about $1.1 million by Oct. 18. and spent all but $29,000, according to the FEC report. Porter also dipped into his own bank account, loaning his campaign about $17,000.

Berkley is no stranger to spending money to win an election. In 1998 she spent $1.3 million in her successful campaign for the House seat. Chairez spent about $500,000 during the race, according to FEC records.

Money became an issue in the race between Porter and Berkley in another way when both camps accused the other of violating federal election laws regarding their financial reports. The FEC wrote both candidates several letters regarding mistakes in their reports during the campaign, but it will likely be weeks before the agency determines whether any laws were violated.

On issues, the candidates sparred over prescription drugs and nuclear waste. Porter attacked Berkley early for what he said was her failure to support Nevada's recently adopted prescription drug plan for seniors. Berkley responded that the plan only covers a small percent of Nevada seniors and said she supports a national plan proposed by Democrats tied to Medicare.