Sue Lowden raises $800,000 in first quarter of campaign

By Cy Ryan

Friday, Jan. 22, 2010 | 4:27 p.m.

CARSON CITY -- Sue Lowden raised more than $800,000 during the last three months of 2009 in her bid for a U.S. Senate seat and intends to match dollar-for-dollar any contribution she receives in the current quarter.

"This shows Sue Lowden will be competitive in this campaign, especially in this primary," said Robert Uithoven, a spokesman for Lowden. He didn't have the cash on hand, how much was contributed in-state and out-of-state and what amount came from casinos.

He said that would be supplied when the official report is filed Jan. 31 with the Federal Election Commission.

Overall, Lowden opponent Danny Tarkanian has collected $648,622 to mount the race for the GOP nomination.

Uithoven said Lowden didn't want to invest her own money in the initial part of the campaign and "she wanted to show she could raise money in Nevada and throughout the country."

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the incumbent, had received $8.7 million by the end of last September.

Uithoven didn't have the exact amount of collections but said it was a "little bit over" $800,000. "It far exceeds what Tarkanian raised in two quarters," he said.

Another GOP candidate, John Chachas, received $251,523 in fourth-quarter donations. He has raised $1.9 million but put $1.3 million of his own money into the campaign, according to published reports.

Lowden's husband, Paul, is an executive in the Las Vegas gambling company of Archon, and Forbes Magazine says he earned $550,000 in 2008, received a bonus of $200,000 and got total compensation of $793,255.