Super PACs jump in Nevada race

LAS VEGAS (AP) - Millions of dollars of spending in the campaign fracas between Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican challenger has been made possible by a pair of U.S. Supreme Court rulings this year.

The rulings open the flood gates to unlimited political expenditures by corporations and labor unions in election races. And it has ranked the Nevada Senate race sixth in the nation for spending, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

The Las Vegas Sun estimated that about $5 million has been spent supporting or attacking Reid or Republican Sharron Angle.

A lot of that money is from a new political actor, the so-called Super PAC created in the wake of rulings as recently as July from the high court.

Super PACs can accept unlimited contributions from corporations, labor unions or individuals, unlike candidates or traditional political action committees.

Before the court rulings, political groups could support a candidate only indirectly - for example, by telling voters to tell Reid to nix health care reform. They could not urge a vote for or against Reid.

Because the new form of spending has been legal only since July, the identity of many donors won't be revealed until Friday a day before early voting begins and about two weeks before Election Day.

"Groups can now raise and spend as much money as they want directly advocating in the most profound ways for and against the candidates," David Levinthal, spokesman for Center for Responsive Politics, told the Sun.

"The big caveat is they don't have to immediately disclose their donors. They can put up an ad today and you won't know until the middle of October as to who may truly be funneling the hundreds of thousands of dollars they are spending."

At a campaign stop last week, Reid denounced the spending of "shady" organizations to oppose his candidacy, blaming those groups for driving down his approval rating.

"They've been spending tens of millions against me for a year and a half, all these outside groups," Reid said. "Where's the money coming from? There's no transparency."

Reid inflated the amount spent against him so far. The Center for Responsive Politics say that tally has reached about $2 million. And Reid has been the subject of attack ads funded by groups with varying degrees of transparency. Most notably, American Crossroads, launched by GOP operatives Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie, and its sister organization, Crossroads GPS, are spending heavily in Nevada.

American Crossroads is working like a Super PAC, accepting contributions as high as $1 million from Fortune 500 companies, oil executives and other interests. The organization has elected to disclose its contributors monthly. Under federal guidelines it also could report quarterly.

Crossroads GPS is a political nonprofit organization that does not have to disclose its donors as long as less than half of its activity is politically related. To maintain its tax-exempt status as a nonprofit organization, it must have a broader mission outside of politics.

Reid has borne the brunt of that opposition spending, but he has also benefited significantly from more than $1 million spent against his opponents.

Patriot Majority, a group run by one of Reid's former campaign staffers, Craig Varoga, played a key role in defeating Sue Lowden in the Republican primary. By hammering Lowden, the group helped provide the opening for Angle, seen by Reid allies as a weaker opponent, to win that contest. That effort was funded by large contributions from labor unions.

In July, the group began taking advantage of the new Super PAC status and has spent more than $700,000, mostly on television advertising against Angle.