The week that was: Trump leads; Kihuen and Hardy send positive messages

By Megan Messerly

Monday, Sept. 19, 2016 | 2 a.m.

With only seven full weeks until Nov. 8, there’s really no escaping the election at this point.

The fliers in your mailbox, the barrage of ads telling you why Republican Joe Heck or Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto is probably the worst candidate ever to run for U.S. Senate — you pivot to Facebook for a moment of solace, only to find the digital ads have followed you there.

We know it’s hard to sift through the constant stream of information. That’s why we’re breaking down and recapping the top campaign news you might have missed.

Each week until the election, we’ll dish up assorted nuggets from the presidential, congressional and legislative races — polls, fact-checks, campaign finances and the latest arguments you’ll see popping up on your television and in your mailbox.

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

• Bill for Hill: With Hillary Clinton recovering from a bout of pneumonia last week and scrapping her schedule from Monday through Wednesday, garrulous former President Bill Clinton took to the campaign trail as a substitute, including a Wednesday visit to the College of Southern Nevada’s Cheyenne Campus. Here’s an excerpt:

“I’m glad to have a chance to stand in for Hillary today. She did it for me for a long time. It’s about time I showed up and did it for her. But I just talked to her; she’s feeling great, and I think she’ll be out there tomorrow. It’s a crazy time we live in, you know, when people think there’s something unusual about getting the flu. Last time I checked, millions of people were getting it every year.”

• Ivanka’s dream: When Ivanka Trump introduced her father at the Republican National Convention, many noted her liberal tone — pushing for expanded social safety-net programs involving lower child care costs and paid maternity leave. Two months later Ivanka’s dream materialized in a detailed policy proposal put forward by Donald Trump.

Trump’s plan would ensure six weeks of paid maternity leave and allow parents to deduct child care costs from their income taxes.

After the announcement, Trump’s Nevada campaign released this statement from a working mother: “I’m pleased we have a candidate for president who finally has a realistic plan to address one of the major issues facing today’s middle-class families,” said Carrie Ann Larson, of Laughlin. “My husband and I both work, and child care expenses are a considerable strain on our budget. Donald Trump’s child care affordability plan will help families like ours without shifting a burden onto small businesses like mine.”

THIS WEEK IN FACT-CHECKS

The fact-checking website PolitiFact gave an ad from a Planned Parenthood affiliate targeting Republican Rep. Joe Heck, running for U.S. Senate, a “half-true” rating. The ad claimed Heck “voted to criminalize abortion for rape victims.” Fact-checkers found that Heck voted for legislation that would have created criminal penalties for doctors performing abortions under specific circumstances, with no exceptions for rape. However, the ad’s language is vague about whether the doctor or patient would be at fault for the abortion and visually suggests that women would bear the burden of criminal penalties under the law.

THE NUMBERS: Latest Monmouth University poll shows Trump ahead in Nevada

In a poll of 406 Nevadans (+/- 4.9 percent margin of error) conducted Sept. 11-13, 44 percent of voters would vote for Trump if the election were held today, with 42 percent choosing Clinton, 8 percent in favor of Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and 3 percent preferring "none of these candidates."

Trump was viewed favorably by just 30 percent, though, with Clinton not faring much better, at 34 percent. Trump's unfavorability rating was 55 percent, a tick above Clinton's 54 percent; 15 and 11 percent, respectively, said they had no opinion on the candidates' favorability.

Unlike the Monmouth poll, most polls in Nevada so far have included Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein — who will not appear on the ballot in November — and have omitted Nevada’s “none of these candidates” option.

BATTLE BORN BATTLEGROUND

• First ads in Congressional District 4 race: Both Democratic state Sen. Ruben Kihuen and Republican U.S. Rep. Cresent Hardy aired their first television ads last week.

Kihuen’s touted his support for a $1.4 billion tax package for education backed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, which essentially echoed an attack ad put out by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The NRCC couched raising taxes as a negative, and Kihuen couched it as positive.

Hardy’s first ad also went positive, framing Hardy as a public servant. “Cresent doesn’t ask who you voted for or what party you belong to. He asks how he can help,” the narrator says.

Democrats have a 35,000-person voter-registration advantage in the district, and Hardy is considered one of the most vulnerable House members. But the race is far from a done deal and is one to keep an eye on this election cycle.