Sunday, Oct. 29, 2006 | 7:52 a.m.
If you watch television between now and Election Day, you can expect to become very familiar with why Rep. Jon Porter and U.S. Sen. John Ensign believe they deserve to be sent back to Washington next year.
Or, more accurately, why they think their opponents do not belong in Congress.
With nearly $2 million in ad buys between them on Southern Nevada's four major local TV stations since early October, Porter and Ensign will be the kings of the airwaves through Nov. 7.
Judging by the sharply negative tone to date of their ads - and those of most other candidates - much of that money will be spent not to highlight Porter's and Ensign's own records, but rather to attack their Democratic opponents, Tessa Hafen and Jack Carter, respectively.
There also will be plenty of ads from special-interest groups, particularly those advocating ballot initiatives on smoking restrictions and marijuana legalization.
In the final weeks of an election season, attentive TV viewers have no difficulty figuring out which candidates are awash in cash and which have financial wells that have run dry.
Porter, seeking a third two-year term in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District, leads the political pack in terms of TV time bought on the local stations, having purchased $1.2 million worth of ads for the final month of the campaign on KVBC Channel 3, KVVU Channel 5, KLAS Channel 8 and KTNV Channel 13.
That gives Porter a lopsided advertising edge over Hafen, who has bought $266,825 worth of TV ads for the 3rd District race's final two weeks. (Porter's ad total, like those for others mentioned in this story, could have grown since the TV stations' records were checked last Wednesday.)
Hafen, though, is getting help from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which has earmarked a portion of the $287,800 it will spend on Southern Nevada stations in the final days of Campaign '06 for TV ads on her behalf.
She also is getting an assist from VoteVets.org., an independent group of military veterans critical of the war in Iraq. In the final two weeks of the campaign, the group plans to spend $208,200, largely on ads calling for Porter's defeat based on his "voting against proper care for veterans."
Fellow Republican incumbent Ensign also enjoys a large spending advantage over Democrat Carter in their U.S. Senate race.
From Oct. 16 through Nov. 6, Ensign has bought $717,445 worth of air time on the four stations, nearly six times Carter's $124,280 total over the final two weeks.
With political ads typically saturating television late in any campaign season, individual candidates face heightened competition for voters' attention.
Even so, TV ads that run late in election campaigns still have an impact on races, UNR political science professor Eric Herzik said.
"But the effect is undercut to some extent by early voting and they get lost in the blur of images that are starting to hit," he said.
This late in the game, negative ads against one's opponent are far more effective than positive spots promoting a candidate's own credentials, Herzik said.
"If you're behind, negative ads become more vital," he said. "People remember negative ads. You're creating a longer-lasting image with a negative ad, and your opponent probably can't respond."
Herzik cited two negative ads now on the air - those of Republican Rep. Jim Gibbons and Democratic state Sen. Dina Titus in the gubernatorial race - as particularly effective.
In one, Gibbons accuses Titus of taking money from telemarketers, hardly a group that engenders warm feelings among many voters. And in the other spot, Titus uses a grieving war widow from Sparks who blames Gibbons for allegedly failing to follow through on her request for information about her husband's death in Iraq.
Several special-interest groups supporting or opposing ballot measures also will have a major on-screen presence during the closing days of the campaign.
The Smoke Free Coalition, whose members include casinos and taverns, is spending $699,600 at the four local stations to fight proposed ballot Question 5, which would prohibit smoking in certain places, and to support the less restrictive Question 4. Their opponents, Nevadans for Tobacco Free Kids - whose supporters include the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association - have bought $143,300 in late TV ads to back Question 5.
Close behind the Smoke Free Coalition in terms of dollars spent on TV is the Committee to Regulate and Control Marijuana, which is spending $678,960 on the local stations in an effort to pass Question 7, which would allow individuals at least 21 years old to possess up to 1 ounce of marijuana.
In other key statewide and local races, barring last-minute ad purchases on the four local TV stations:
An unusual ad-buying arrangement involves Republicans Brian Krolicki, the incumbent state treasurer running for lieutenant governor, and Mark DeStefano, who is seeking to replace Krolicki as treasurer. They made a combined purchase of $164,025, or $82,012.50 each, for back-to-back 15-second spots to run from Oct. 16 through Sunday. Krolicki also is spending an additional $22,950 on his own ads.
In comparison, Democratic lieutenant governor candidate Bob Unger has bought only $11,250 in TV ads during the campaign's final two weeks.
DeStefano's Democratic opponent, Kate Marshall, has not bought any TV ad time in Southern Nevada for the campaign's homestretch.
Incumbents who will have the airwaves to themselves over the final days of the election, unless their challengers make late purchases, include 1st Congressional District Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley, who has purchased $136,485 in ads, Republican Clark County District Attorney David Roger ($91,450) and Nevada Supreme Court Justice Michael Douglas ($99,700).
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