Tuesday, April 24, 2007 | 7:10 a.m.
Presidential candidates are tapping Nevada donors in earnest, even if the election is still 19 months away. The story so far:
Republican Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, pulled large sums of cash from the Fertitta family, owners of the neighborhood casino giant Station Casinos, and a bevy of the company's executives.
Republican Mitt Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, tapped Nevada's Mormon community.
And Hillary Clinton dominated the state's Democratic donors, drawing big support from the development and entertainment industries.
That hasn't left much for the political coffers of Democrats Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who have largely relied on small checks and grass-roots support here.
The contributions offer a glimpse into the mechanics of the various campaigns and show the potential appeal and reach of the candidates, both in Nevada and on the national stage.
Most striking is Giuliani's strength. Despite all the excitement and activity surrounding Nevada's new early Democratic caucus, Giuliani, a Republican, has attracted the most financial support.
He raised $526,000 in the first three months of 2007, more than the top three Democrats combined, according to a state-by-state analysis of campaign contributions by PoliticalMoneyLine.com, which tracks donations.
Giuliani picked up support from a wide swath of Nevada Republicans, including influential players in the state's gaming and development industries. The large fundraising numbers follow state and national polls showing Giuliani as the double-digit frontrunner among Republicans.
The Fertitta family donated $27,600 to Giuliani. In addition, Station executives gave the campaign nearly $40,000.
Also backing Giuliani are prominent developers Barry Becker and Randy Black, as well as Larry Ruvo, owner of Southern Wine & Spirits of Nevada, an important fundraiser for President Bush's 2004 election campaign.
Mike Sloan, a longtime Democratic operative and gaming consultant, said Giuliani was the "Obama phenomenon" of the Republican Party - someone who appeals to a cross section of voters and even to some Democrats. (Sloan donated to the top three Democrats and gave $2,300 to Giuliani. He said the contribution was a personal favor to the Fertittas for their past fundraising help.)
Giuliani's appeal is evident in the support by Republican Steve Wark, who hosted a fundraiser for Giuliani last month in Reno. As chairman of the state party in 1988, Wark led an effort that ultimately delivered the party's caucuses for Christian televangelist Pat Robertson. Wark describes himself as a social conservative, yet says he and many like-minded Republicans support Giuliani because of his support for constitutionalist judges.
"He's got the skill set to govern as commander in chief," Wark said. "He ran the country's largest city. He's a symbol of fighting terrorism. And, while conservatives don't agree with him on social issues, they understand that national security is the issue of our time."
Romney, on the other hand, is banking on his conservative connections. He raised $397,000 from Nevada donors.
Much of that came from Mormon donors, including Jacob Bingham, a developer and former Clark County commissioner; Mormon church spokesman Ace Robison; Colorado River Commission Chairman Richard Bunker; and former Las Vegas City Manager Ashley Hall.
Robison, who gave $1,000 to the campaign, said he supported Romney because of the candidate's stance on limited government and his "firm moral foundation."
He said sharing Romney's religion was not a factor . But, he added, many Mormons have come to admire the Republican for getting into the race.
"I think that many Latter-day Saints are impressed by the fact that one of their own has the courage to stand up and have his religion and personal life scrutinized by the world," Robison said.
Romney also has the support of former Gov. Kenny Guinn and former Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, co-chairs of his Nevada finance committee.
Sen. John McCain of Arizona, despite his status as the sole Westerner on the Republican side, was easily outpaced in Nevada. He received $92,000, one-quarter of Romney's total.
Sig Rogich, a former adviser to President Ronald Reagan who's helping McCain in the state, said the poor showing reflected a campaign that had not begun in earnest. Also, unlike the other two leading Republicans, McCain did not hold a fundraiser here in the first quarter.
Among McCain's big-name supporters is MGM Mirage Chief Executive Terry Lanni.
Rogich said that fundraising would pick up soon, and that Nevadans would gravitate toward McCain .
"On the preponderance of issues related to Western states, John McCain is in lockstep with the way Nevadans believe," he said.
UNLV political scientist David Damore said it's the issues on which McCain differs that hurt his efforts in Nevada, not to mention his strident support for the war in Iraq. The senator supports storing nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain and once proposed a ban on college sports betting in Nevada.
"People don't forget stuff like that," Damore said.
Clinton dominated Democratic donors in Nevada, underscoring her status as the establishment candidate. She raised $317,000, nearly five times as much as her chief rival, Obama.
The results also track with polls showing she is the Democratic frontrunner in Nevada.
Members of the Greenspun family, which publishes the Las Vegas Sun, donated a combined $31,400 to Clinton. Executives of Greenspun-owned companies gave Clinton $18,100. Sun Editor Brian Greenspun, a longtime friend of the Clintons, hosted a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton last month.
"She has wisdom, she has experience that is unmatchable, and she has the intellectual capacity to deal with the complexities of the job," Greenspun said. "We have all learned what happens when we elect someone who is not similarly qualified."
Among Clinton's leading supporters are Diamond Resorts owner Stephen Cloobeck, Sacramento Kings owner Gavin Maloof and Top Rank Chief Executive Bob Arum. All gave the maximum contribution to Clinton's primary and general election campaigns.
The roster of big-name givers doesn't bode well for the campaigns of Obama and Edwards, whose relatively small fundraising totals reflect the immaturity of their Nevada operations.
The state's pool of Democratic donors is small and those donors tend to stick together, said Fred Lokken, a political scientist at Truckee Meadows Community College.
Steve Kanigher and Mary Manning contributed to this report.
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