Gibbons boosts fund-raising

Suzanne Struglinski

Thursday, Oct. 16, 2003 | 9:08 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., raised about $10,000 more in the last three months than he did in the previous quarter, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance reports filed Wednesday.

Gibbons raised roughly $140,000 since his July report, when he collected $127,800. Gibbons has $538,000 in cash on hand.

The stakes are different this filing period, since Gibbons announced in August he would not challenge Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., but instead aim to keep his House seat.

Reid raised just over $1 million this quarter, marking his third quarter in which he has reached the million-dollar mark. Reid now has $3.7 million in cash on hand for his campaign.

Eric Herzik, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno said he did not think Gibbons' increase in funds was related to his decision not to face Reid, but just part of his usual re-election process.

"The money didn't scare away Jim Gibbons," Herzik said. "But there is no other Republican who's really going to make that strong a run, and the money makes it a longer shot."

Herzik said raising enough money to even be able to compete will make it harder for Reid's opponent. "But there are lots of other reasons to pause."

He said it's obvious Reid is still in fund-raising mode, but "he's not going to need all that money just as Gibbons isn't going to have to crank up his machine."

This is the first time lawmakers had to file a quarterly report in a nonelection year, according to FEC documents.

On paper it looks like contributions to Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., decreased. She raised just under $175,000 this quarter compared with the $565,440 in the second quarter. She now has $828,000 cash on hand.

A Berkley aide said most political donors and organizations are used to giving money in June since candidates only had to file a report at that time in non-election years. The aide said people had money budgeted for that time of year and that most are not aware yet that the members have to file quarterly reports even in off-years now.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., reported raising just under $185,000 this quarter with $402,331 in cash on hand. He raised $256,000 last quarter.

Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., raised $120,032 this quarter and has $257,905 in cash on hand. Ensign is not up for re-election until 2006. Ensign raised $279,275 in the second quarter of this year.