Nevada political roundup: Dems target local race

By J. Patrick Coolican

Friday, July 11, 2008 | 4:40 p.m.

Check back throughout the day for updated political coverage of issues that affect Las Vegas and Nevada.

(Updated at 4:40 p.m.)

The 'King of Las Vegas'

Libertarianism and its presidential candidate, Bob Barr, a former Georgia congressman, are profiled in this Time Magazine piece. (The photo is great. He looks like a 50s-era Beatnik poet.)

This is relevant to we Nevadans because his running mate is Wayne Allyn Root, the self-proclaimed "King of Las Vegas." We profiled Root a few weeks ago, here.

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(Updated at 2:11 p.m.)

Off to the Races

-- Of interest to Nevada's big racing community: Via Ben Smith at Sun partner Politico, here's Sports Illustrated on Obama sponsoring a car. Also, here's Politico's Jonathan Martin on Cindy McCain showing up at racing events this weekend.

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(Posted at 11:24 a.m. Friday)

Democrats Eye Nevada House Seat

House Democrats are set to spend $35 million on television in 31 targeted races, including Nevada's Third Congressional District, held by incumbent Rep. Jon Porter, the Henderson Republican. His challenger, state Sen. Dina Titus, raised more than $500,000 since getting into the race in May, and this could bring her near even with Porter financially. (The Republican campaign committee, rocked by a financial scandal, has very little resources. The Republican National Committee has big cash reserves, but it's not clear Sen. John McCain, the presumptive nominee, will part with much of it for House races.) The Democrats' party registration advantage in the district stands at 25,000, though nonpartisans likely will decide this one. This afternoon, it was learned the Democrats will spend $916,000 on the race. Full story: Associated Press via Yahoo! News -- House Democrats set to spend $35 million on TV ads

Shoring Up Hispanic Support

McCain has a new TV ad going up in Nevada, Colorado and New Mexico -- all key battleground states. It's a play for Hispanics, among whom he trails badly. The Republican brand among Hispanics has been badly damaged after nasty immigration rhetoric from some corners of the party.

Here's the script for "God's Children" (TV 1:00):

JOHN MCCAIN: My friends, I want you the next time you're down in Washington, D.C., to go to the Vietnam War Memorial and look at the names engraved in black granite. You'll find a whole lot of Hispanic names.

When you go to Iraq or Afghanistan today, you're going to see a whole lot of people who are of Hispanic background. You're even going to meet some of the few thousand that are still green card holders who are not even citizens of this country, who love this country so much that they're willing to risk their lives in its service in order to accelerate their path to citizenship and enjoy the bountiful, blessed nation.

So let's from time to time remember that these are God's children. They must come into country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation as every generation of immigrants before them.

Thank you.

I'm John McCain and I approve this message.

A couple of Nevada Republicans aren't helping McCain on the issue. The Review-Journal today reported on a couple of proposed laws by Republican assemblymen targeting illegal immigrants. One would crack down on employers who knowingly hire them and the other would make sure they don't get benefits or a driver's license (they can't now, but might as well make sure they really get the point, according to Assemblyman Ty Cobb.) He acknowledged that illegal immigrants already are prohibited by law from receiving these benefits, but said such laws are not enforced. "We want to make it clear these new regulations will be enforced," Cobb told the Review-Journal. Full story: Review-Journal -- Two lawmakers file bills targeting illegal immigrants

Political Roundup

-- The New York Times reported the other day on employers fighting measures cracking down on them on the immigration front, even as the issue continues to divide the Republican coalition.

-- Molly Ball looked at the Hispanic vote in Thursday's R-J -- with a nice lead.

-- The Sun's Lisa Mascaro has the story of how Sen. Harry Reid had to call on Sen. Edward Kennedy, who recently had brain surgery, to win a key Medicare vote. With Kennedy's dramatic and tearful return marked by a round of applause, nine Republicans switched their votes, and Reid won.

-- The Sun's Jeff German reports that state Sen. Dennis Nolan was at the courthouse Thursday as a character witness for an accused rapist. If a guilty verdict comes down, this has campaign mail piece written all over it.

-- Dave Schwartz reports on the ACLU opposing gun control here in Nevada:

Damon up north in Reno has a Zogby poll showing a true tie in Nevada between McCain and Sen. Barack Obama, with libertarian candidate and former Rep. Bob Barr polling at 9 percent.

And there's your Friday morning wrap-up.

Correction: This story was changed to reflect that Rep. Jon Porter is from Henderson.