Nevada Dems: Lowden breaking spending laws, FEC should investigate

Nevada Democrats ask FEC for Lowden probe

WASHINGTON — Nevada Democrats on Tuesday filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission about Republican Sue Lowden’s spending that they say violates campaign finance laws.

Lowden’s campaign manager told a Las Vegas newspaper last week that “we’re spending money as it comes in,” including at least $18,000 that could be spent only if she makes it past the June 8 primary.

“We have enough to win, but we’re not going to come out of this primary with cash on hand,” Robert Uithoven told the Review-Journal last week.

That was enough to raise the flag for Nevada Democrats trying to defend Harry Reid, the Senate Democratic leader who faces a tough haul to re-election.

Democrats also pointed to reports that show Lowden had purchased more television ads that would put her spending above primary-flagged donations alone — despite another $100,000 from Lowden’s personal account last week.

A message Tuesday to Lowden’s spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

Lowden, a wealthy business executive, leads a crowded pack of Republicans and has seen her lead slip to tea party darling Sharron Angle.

Reid got some campaign help on Tuesday from first lady Michelle Obama, who told a women’s summit in Reno that he was “one of my favorite people in the world.”

Reid told the conference: “I think that Michelle is the reason for President Obama’s calm demeanor. I’ve seen him in the most difficult times a person could be involved in, but he is the same person. I’ve never heard him swear at anyone, never heard him raise his voice at anyone. … Always he is the even, calm person we have come to know.”

This might not help.

South Carolina gubernatorial hopeful Nikki Haley is finding a defense against allegations of infidelity from an odd corner: South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who fended off calls to resign after he acknowledged his affair with an Argentine woman.

Sanford said Tuesday he doesn’t believe blogger Will Folks’ claim of an inappropriate physical relationship with Haley, a state representative who is trying to becomes the state’s first female governor. Folks, Sanford’s former spokesman, claimed a relationship; Haley has denied the affair.

“It’s the silly season of politics,” Sanford said. “I think that people see that stuff for what it is, which is politics as usual and in this case a particularly evil brand of politics as usual.”

Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, Attorney General Henry McMaster and Rep. Gresham Barrett are also seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the June 8 primary.

“Inevitably there are all sorts of crazy allegations that surface in the last couple of weeks of politics. It’s happened in my campaigns over the years,” Sanford said.

Last year, Sanford disappeared for days and acknowledged an affair with an Argentine woman. The scandal ended Sanford’s marriage and led to calls for his resignation.

Quick hits:

— Actor Tom Cruise makes a cameo in a Lowden campaign ad. The commercial criticizes Angle’s support for a program that Lowden argues would allow Nevada prisons to “pamper prisoners with our tax dollars.” As the narrator explains that massages were part of a program developed by the Church of Scientology, actors in orange jump suits shuffle past a framed photo of Cruise, a member of the religion.

— A well-regarded Republican political operative was named chairman of the state commission that regulates campaign financing in California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Tuesday that Dan Schnur, a spokesman for former Republican Gov. Pete Wilson and for Sen. John McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign, will take over the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

— Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum wasn’t on the invitation list for U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s meeting with Gulf state attorneys general and U.S. attorneys. McCollum’s office said he didn’t know about the meeting and is looking for a reason why the Republican gubernatorial candidate didn’t get an invite.

— Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman’s latest campaign commercial decries “the mess those politicians have made in Sacramento.” The statewide, 30-second spot ahead of her June 8 primary paints the business executive as a conservative outsider.

— Republicans in Indiana will meet June 12 to pick a candidate to replace former Rep. Mark Souder, who resigned May 21 after admitting an affair with an aide.

Associated Press writer Bruce Smith in North Charleston, S.C., contributed to this report.