Porter raises $460,276 during second quarter

WASHINGTON — Rep. Jon Porter picked up his pace of fundraising during the past three months, according to figures released Thursday, in preparing for a re-election bid as one of the Republican Party’s vulnerable incumbents.

Porter raised $460,276 between the beginning of April and the end of June. Some of the money was raised with help from Republican leaders, and some was attracted through his new membership on the business-oriented House Ways and Means Committee.

A finance report the Nevada lawmaker said he plans to file with the Federal Election Commission this weekend will show he has $604,918 cash on hand as he seeks to rebuild a bank account that was virtually emptied in a close 2006 race.

Porter’s haul ranks him among the top GOP incumbents in terms of fundraising, party spokeswoman Julie Shutley said.

It also puts him nearer to a pace he set in 2005 and 2006 when he ran a $3 million campaign to win a third term. Porter’s fundraising in the first three months of ’07 had lagged.

“After that first quarter, it was ‘uh-oh’ ” for Porter, said David Damore, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. “He knows he’s a target, and I believe he is shooting for a million bucks in the bank this year.”

Porter said April through June “was a strong quarter. It exceeded our expectations. It was hard work, but there also is a lot of focus on politics right now.”

Porter’s campaign had $596,041 cash on hand at this point two years ago, after raising $768,084 in the first six months of that year.

So far this year he has raised $695,341, according to figures released by his office.

A “Regain Our Majority” fundraiser in April sponsored by Republican leaders gained $57,000.

The Nevadan had eight fundraising events in Washington in the quarter. One was tied to Porter’s membership on Ways and Means and attracted lobbyists from industries that interact with the committee.

Porter has been listed among the Republican Party’s most vulnerable incumbents based on his 2 percent victory margin in 2006 against Democrat Tessa Hafen and the makeup of the 3rd Congressional District, which includes the Las Vegas suburbs and rural Clark County.

Nevada Democrats have declared Porter their No. 1 target in the 2008 elections, although they have not yet landed a candidate to run against him. Their focus presently is on Robert Daskas, a Clark County prosecutor who is thinking about running.

Democrats who have declined a race against Porter include Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid, state Sen. Dina Titus, state Sen. Maggie Carlton and Dr. Larry Lehrner, the husband of Rep. Shelley Berkley.

Sen. Harry Reid, the state party’s unofficial leader, also has thought aloud about recruiting boxer Oscar de la Hoya or former tennis star Andre Agassi.

Damore said Democrats missed an opportunity to jump in early against Porter before he picked up his finances.

“You have heard so many names tossed around here,” Damore said. “The Democrats have screwed up a little bit, but there still is a long ways to go. If they can find a wealthy person who could fund himself, that would help them a lot.”

Democratic Party spokesman Fernando Cuevas said there is still plenty of time with the election more than a year away.

“This is a race that is in our cross hairs, and we are confident that whatever candidate we put in place will have no problem raising money to run a professional and competent race in that district,” he said.