Rosen raises 3 times as much as Heller in Nevada Senate race

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Democratic Rep. Jacky Rosen raised three times as much money in recent months as Republican Sen. Dean Heller, according to new fundraising reports in their neck-and-neck Senate race in Nevada.

Heller is among the most endangered incumbents in the U.S. Senate and is the only Republican senator running for re-election in a state that was won by Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Heller raised $2.2 million from July through September, campaign finance reports released late Monday show.

Rosen, a freshman congresswoman who has outraised Heller every quarter since she jumped into the race in July 2017, brought in $7.1 million over that same period.

Democrats outraised Republicans in Nevada’s competitive House races, too, in line with the national trend of the party out of power reporting eye-popping fundraising totals.

Democrat Susie Lee raised more than twice the amount of Republican Danny Tarkanian in the race for Rosen’s former Las Vegas area seat — $1.38 million to $661,000. In another competitive Las Vegas seat, GOP Rep. Cresent Hardy raised $268,000 while his challenger, former Democratic Rep. Steve Horsford, raised $900,000.

The reports show Rosen spent heavily, ending the quarter with about $2.6 million. Heller spent less and started October with $2.7 million.

Heller’s campaign has highlighted what he calls Rosen’s heavy support from people living outside Nevada.

“Jacky Rosen has burned through the millions she’s raised from California and New York, and what does she have to show for it?” Heller’s campaign spokesman Keith Schipper asked in a statement Tuesday.

Schipper noted that Heller now has more campaign funds than his opponent to spend in the final weeks of the campaign.

Rosen’s campaign says 95 percent of her donations have been $100 or less, and the average donation is about $54, showing grassroots support.

“Hardworking families in Nevada know what’s at stake,” Rosen campaign manager Danny Kazin said in a statement. “They’re tired of Sen. Heller’s broken promises and spineless partisan games looking out for himself instead of his constituents.”

Campaign finance reports also show Heller received about $17,000 from a fundraiser President Donald Trump headlined in Las Vegas in September.

A political action committee called Win Nevada, which was set up for the fundraiser, took in about $200,000 from the event.

Beyond the money that went to Heller, the PAC’s funds went to Tarkanian and to national GOP groups.