Cheney to visit LV for Porter fund-raiser

Suzanne Struglinski

Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2004 | 11:13 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Vice President Dick Cheney will help Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., raise money for his re-election campaign at a luncheon in Las Vegas next week.

Donors can have lunch with Cheney at the Bellagio on Jan. 15 for $250, while an additional $1,000 contribution will also get a photo with the vice president, according to Porter's campaign office.

The vice president's office said it would not confirm any travel plans until 48 hours prior to the event, but Porter's campaign office said Cheney is coming. Porter, a former state senator and Boulder City mayor, defeated Dario Herrera in 2002 for the newly created 3rd Congressional District. He has no formal Democratic opponent at this point.

"We hope to have a candidate named publicly by early next month," Nevada State Democratic Party spokesman Jon Summers said. "This will not be an unopposed race."

Summers said the party is still talking with some potential candidates.

As of October, Porter had just over $402,000 cash on hand, according to his latest campaign contribution report filed with the FEC. He has raised about $760,000 to far this election cycle, according to the same report.

Porter, and others seeking office in the 2004 election, will have to file end-of-the-year campaign contribution reports for 2003 at the end of this month, according to the FEC. The first quarterly report of 2004, which will include the Cheney fund-raiser for Porter, will be due April 15.

The vice president visited Las Vegas in July where he raised around $300,000 for the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign.

About 100 protesters demonstrated outside the earlier visit, speaking out about the administration's support for putting nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

As a presidential candidate in 2000, George W. Bush promised to support the Energy Department only if could be done safely. He approved the site in February 2002, although 293 technical issues remained unresolved, which angered some Nevadans.

Protesters also showed up for Bush's campaign visit in late November, objecting to Yucca as well as the new Medicare prescription drug plan. Bush raised more than $1.2 million during one afternoon visit.

Bush did not visit Las Vegas as a candidate in 2000, but did visit Lake Tahoe to raise $300,000 for his campaign and $240,000 for the party.

Peggy Maze Johnson, executive director of anti-Yucca group Citizen Alert, said organizing protests will be hard this time around since Cheney's visit will take place a day after the state's federal court arguments against the project in Washington. Citizen Alert is a part of one of the court cases and Johnson will be in Washington for the arguments.