GOP candidates for Congress finding campaign funds in Washington

By Karoun Demirjian

Wednesday, July 13, 2011 | 3:18 p.m.

While Congressional leaders spent the week trying to find funds to pay down the government’s deficit, Nevada’s GOP House hopefuls were doing a different kind of fundraising: the kind that helps win campaigns.

On Tuesday, 3rd District incumbent Rep. Joe Heck and 2nd District special election hopeful Mark Amodei schmoozed with lobbyists, lawmakers, and other donors to drum up excitement for their campaigns, and more critically, dollars.

Heck feted lobbyists over a lunch at Trattoria Alberto just off Capitol Hill; attendees were encouraged to contribute anywhere from $500 to $1,000 to attend. Meanwhile Amodei met with national Republican campaign strategists and some PACs, according to a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, and was planning to hold a fundraiser at the Capitol Hill Club, the GOP’s premiere social gathering spot on Capitol Hill, according to other Washington sources.

“We will be working with the nominee throughout the summer and keeping tabs on the race,” NRCC spokesman Tyler Q. Houlton added.

An invitation to Heck’s luncheon did not list an official sponsor for the event, but appears to have been organized through the Townsend Group, an consulting group that aids several Republican candidates, and the Conservative Victory Fund, a group that funds conservative campaigns.

Spokesmen for the Heck and Amodei campaigns declined to comment, and a list of the contributions each received at their Tuesday events won't be available until campaigns submit a full campaign report for the third quarter.