State Dems: Caucus tab worth it

By Michael Mishak (contact)

Sunday, Feb. 17, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Like waking up with a doozy of a hangover after a great party, the Nevada Democratic Party is recovering from last month’s record-breaking caucuses with a financial headache.

The caucuses cost the party several hundred thousand dollars more than the $2 million that had been budgeted, the result of record turnout and having to hire additional staff to assist the unexpectedly high number of reporters swarming the state during caucus week.

Depending on whom you talk to, the party busted its budget by between $200,000 and $400,000. Bills are still coming in, and party officials are reluctant to discuss publicly the party’s finances.

Among the party’s outstanding debts: a $100,000-plus bill from the Clark County School District for the use of 258 schools and the cost of about 600 custodians working overtime on caucus day.

By contrast, Nevada Republicans, who ran a considerably smaller caucus operation, came in under budget. They also are flush with cash: President Bush raised more than $500,000 for the party’s coffers on a trip to Las Vegas last month.

Democratic Party officials and political consultants, however, cautioned against reading too much into the party’s financial situation, saying the party will cover its obligations in part when caucus donation pledges by the party faithful are made good. The rest of the needed money, they said, would likely come from party leaders such as Sen. Harry Reid and Democratic donors.

“It is not unusual for us Democrats to do what we’ve got to do and then get back whole later,” said Billy Vassiliadis, a leading Democratic strategist and gaming lobbyist who co-chaired Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign here.

The Nevada Democratic Party raised and spent more than $1.6 million in 2007.

The party defends the costs of the Jan. 19 caucuses using logic like in a MasterCard commercial:

Iowa caucus consultant, $60,000. Advertising, $181,000. Strategic advantages gained from the caucuses, priceless.

Because the party allowed independents and Republicans to re-register as Democrats, the Democrats now outnumber Republicans by nearly 11,500 active voters (those who retain a valid mailing address). The margin is about double that when all registered voters, not just active voters, are counted. The Democratic caucuses drew a record 117,600 people, and the party has estimated that 30,000 to 40,000 of them were newly registered Democrats. The Republican contest, on the other hand, attracted a little more than a third of that, or about 44,000 voters.

State election officials are still tallying caucus-day registrations and a final report could come as early as next week, said Matt Griffin, Nevada’s deputy secretary of state for elections.

Notably, much of the Democrats’ new registration edge is in the state’s 3rd Congressional District, home to Republican Rep. Jon Porter, who faces a potentially tough challenge from former Clark County prosecutor Robert Daskas in November. Porter narrowly won reelection in 2006, and both national parties have targeted the district this time around as one of the most competitive in the country.

The party also hopes to exploit its voter edge in the districts of two Republican state senators, Bob Beers and Joe Heck, as it tries to flip control of the state Senate. Democratic leaders, however, are still working hard to recruit challengers.

All this, of course, requires money. But the party insists it is meeting its obligations and will be able to quickly raise funds to cover caucus-related expenses. In addition to the School District bill, which party officials hope to negotiate, the party faces costs associated with maintaining a media filing center at Cashman Center for the MSNBC debate the week of the caucus. The party brought in staff from the Iowa Democratic Party and some hired hands from Washington, D.C., to accommodate the high level of interest. It also spent money on a final round of mailers to drive turnout.

The party did enjoy at least one revenue stream on caucus day, receiving at least $60,000 in contributions from voters at the 1,700-plus caucus sites.

“I’m not worried about bills we haven’t received,” said Mike Sloan, the chief fundraiser for the Democratic caucus. “The pledges we’ve received are every bit as real as the bills.”

He added: “I don’t anticipate that when this process is over there will be a deficit.”

Indeed, others have a long-term incentive to keep the party strong. Reid, for one, faces reelection in 2010, and recent poll numbers suggest he could face a tough race.

“He’ll let folks know he wants the party in good shape,” Vassiliadis said. “It won’t be hard to find contributors.”

Sun reporter Alex Richards contributed to this report.