A look at first week of early voting, Reid’s priorities, and campaign money

By Megan Messerly

Saturday, June 4, 2016 | 2 a.m.

Some Nevadans have already cast their ballots, but the primary election is far from over.

Early voting, which kicked off last Saturday, is on track to outpace the levels of early voting in the 2012 and 2014 primaries. Meanwhile, candidates have been attacking each other on the airwaves, organizing get-out-the-vote efforts and making a variety of public appearances.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid swung through town this week, making public appearances for candidates he is backing. Republican Rep. Joe Heck and Democratic former state Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto also made appearances of their own, shoring up their respective primaries before they officially turn to face each other in the battle for Reid’s seat in November.

Another round of finance reports came in for congressional candidates this week, offering a glimpse of where spending is at and how much money the candidates have left before the June 14 primary.

Here’s a snapshot of some election highlights from the past week:

More campaign finance reports

Congressional candidates were required to file pre-primary campaign finance reports by Thursday. Here’s where some of the money has lined up in key races.

• 3rd Congressional District, GOP side: Businessman Danny Tarkanian outspent state Senate Majority Leader Michael Roberson in the last two months, but with both of them spending significant sums on television ads. Roberson still has about $295,000 on hand as of May 25, which gives him some wiggle room in the last two weeks or so of the primary, while Tarkanian has about $65,000 on hand. Roberson has spent slightly less than Tarkanian so far, but outraised him over the course of the election by about $200,000. Assemblywoman Michele Fiore trails both of them in fundraising, bringing in about $110,000 in the last two months and spending about $140,000, mostly associated with direct mail costs.

• 3rd Congressional District, Democratic side: Local synagogue leader Jacky Rosen brought in about $150,000 in the last two months, bringing her total contributions in the race up to $350,000. She entered the race late, but has had to spend comparatively little against Henderson attorney Jesse Sbaih, who poured $500,000 of his own money into his campaign warchest early on. Sbaih, who has attacked Rosen for her relationship with Reid, spent only about $60,000 in the last two months, compared to Rosen who spent $180,000. He has significantly more in the bank than she does but has not shown a willingness to spend much of it on the race.

• 4th Congressional District, Democratic side: Philanthropist Susie Lee has both raised and spent the most in this primary, though she’s also loaned her campaign $300,000 in the process. Former Assemblywoman Lucy Flores caught up in the fundraising game in the last two months, bringing in $600,000, mostly thanks to fundraising solicitations sent out on her behalf by Bernie Sanders, who Flores endorsed for president. State Sen. Ruben Kihuen, meanwhile, raised $215,000 in the last two months, for a total of about $890,000 in the race so far. He trails the other two in terms of fundraising and spending, but he also has the weight of the Culinary Union and the AFL-CIO behind him. All candidates are up on television, and the race is expected to be close.

Other candidates in those races have either raised or spent very little on their campaigns or have not yet filed their campaign finance reports. Reports for the U.S. Senate candidates, including Heck and Cortez Masto, were not immediately available.

Early voting recap

In the first six days of early voting, 43,500 people showed up to the polls, compared to 37,000 in 2012 and 36,000 in 2014. However, it falls about 8,000 short of early voting for the primary in 2010.

Still, the results of voting won’t be released until the close of the polls on primary day, which means no one will know what higher turnout actually means until then.

Political journalist Jon Ralston, who has broken down the polling data by district on his blog, reports that turnout has been significantly higher than normal in several key Republican legislative primaries in Clark County, including in Senate District 6 where Erv Nelson and Victoria Seaman are battling for the Republican nomination.

Early voting continues until June 10, and primary day is June 14.

Culinary’s stand for Kihuen

The Culinary Union released its full slate of primary endorsements earlier this week, but the union hasn’t been bashful in admitting how much support it’s pouring out for Kihuen compared to its other endorsed candidates, like Rosen.

The union has been phone banking and door knocking for Kihuen, and union members attended a “canvassing kickoff” with Kihuen and Reid on Wednesday.

Yvanna Cancela, political director for the union, said the union will make sure other endorsed candidates come out of their primaries. Still, Cancela said that Kihuen’s commitment to the union is “stronger than any other politician has made in recent history” and said that “merits really strong support” from the Culinary Union.

“Our entire political operation is focused on making sure that CD4 has a representative that mirrors the people that live in the district,” Cancela said. “We believe very strongly that that person is Ruben Kihuen.”

Reid makes the rounds in town

Reid’s hasn’t been quiet in the primaries: He’s featured prominently in Kihuen’s television ads and his picture is a focal point on the back of several of Rosen’s mailers. This week, he made public appearances with both candidates, attending a campaign rally at Kihuen’s campaign headquarters on Wednesday and voting alongside Rosen at the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson on Thursday.

“I am so grateful for Ruben Kihuen. I believe in loyalty,” Reid said. “You can buy good looks, you can buy education, but you can't buy loyalty.”

At the Galleria mall, Reid chatted with Rosen, posed for pictures, and took questions from reporters at a news conference. Asked for his thoughts on Sbaih’s campaign, Reid declined to comment.

Heck and Cortez Masto shore up their Senate primaries

Heck packed his schedule on Thursday, meeting with seniors to introduce a piece of legislation and attending a roundtable on health care. He later met with workers at Henderson Hyundai, where he was endorsed by the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

“I'm proud to be a 100 percent voter for NFIB issues, not because they're NFIB issues but because they're the interests of small-business owners I represent,” Heck said. “I want to make sure they have every possible opportunity to grow their businesses.”

The biggest threat Heck faces in the Republican primary is from Sharron Angle, who ran against Reid for Senate in 2010. However, Angle has run a slim campaign compared to 2010, bringing in little money and focusing most of her attention on the north.

Cortez Masto, meanwhile, met with supporters Tuesday at El Tarasco Mexican Restaurant in Las Vegas before casting her primary ballot at the East Las Vegas Community Center.

“I’m so grateful to be here today, surrounded by supporters for my candidacy, and to cast my ballot for Nevada’s primary,” Cortez Masto said in a statement. “It’s clear that Nevadans want a leader in the Senate who will focus on solving problems, not partisan battles.”

While Cortez Masto has a number of Democratic opponents in the primary, none of them has mounted a serious campaign against her.

CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct a reference to the Galleria at Sunset mall in Henderson. | (June 7, 2016)