With Horsford under attack, Democrats fighting back

By Amber Phillips

Published Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 | 1:30 p.m.

Updated Friday, Oct. 24, 2014 | 2:54 p.m.

Washington Democrats are coming to a colleague’s aid after a Republican outside group decided to throw almost $1 million against the Democratic candidate in a sleepy Nevada congressional race.

The House Democrats’ campaign arm is spending an undisclosed amount of money to bolster Rep. Steven Horsford’s estimated $100,000 worth of TV ads, aides said today.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee will work with Horsford’s campaign to air slightly different versions of TV ads Horsford launched earlier in October as part of broader digital push.

In response to the DCCC's ad buy, the campaign arm of House Republicans is also going on the airwaves. The National Republican Congressional Committee will be coordinating with Assemblyman Cresent Hardy's campaign to put up positive ads for Hardy next week.

"We have kept a close eye on this race, and Steven Horsford is more vulnerable than originally expected due to his hyper-partisan voting record," said NRCC spokesperson Tyler Houlton.

All this spending was kicked off by Crossroads GPS, a Republican PAC affiliated with former President George W. Bush adviser Karl Rove that announced Tuesday it was spending $822,000 on TV ads aimed at Horsford.

The news surprised most political insiders.

Crossroads GPS has been a major player in Nevada’s past elections, but until Tuesday, Horsford seemed to be cruising to a second term to represent North Las Vegas and central Nevada.

Hardy has made gaffes and his campaign is in debt about $35,000.

“The DCCC takes it seriously when Karl Rove targets our incumbents in a tough midterm environment, and we are working aggressively with Rep. Horsford’s campaign to push back on these false attacks,” said a DCCC aide in a statement.

Crossroads GPS may have been motivated in part by early voting numbers that show Republicans are showing up in more numbers than Democrats across the state.

Horsford’s campaign is pushing hard to get Democrats to the polls next week and on Election Day. They’ll be aided by a visit from President Bill Clinton, who is expected to be in the Las Vegas area early next week to rally for Horsford and other Democrats on Nevada’s ballot.

In a sign that Democrats are taking nothing for granted, more Washington Democrats could stop in Nevada to rally for Horsford before Election Day.