LAS VEGAS (AP) - A leader of House Republicans’ re-election efforts on Thursday said he believes taxes and border security are the top issues for voters in Nevada’s 2nd and 3rd Congressional Districts.
U.S. Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, repeatedly cited the axiom “all politics is local,” and said that in Nevada that meant voters would support an extension of tax cuts and stronger protections at the nation’s borders.
“House elections, they are won and lost on pocketbook issues,” said Reynolds, R-N.Y.
The congressman rejected Democrats’ assertion that President Bush’s low approval rating would drag down Republican candidates in the state, saying “the president is not on the ballot.”
He said he was not discouraging Bush from making appearances in tight districts, and was not counseling candidates to refuse his help.
“The president is the best fundraiser the Republican party has in 2006,” Reynolds said. “I welcome the president to be wherever he wants to be … I want (candidates) in each and every race to do what they think is best for their district.”
President Bush has already appeared at a fundraiser in the 3rd Congressional District for incumbent Jon Porter. The congressman is running for a third term against Democrat Tessa Hafen, a former aide to Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
Reynolds said Hafen had made statements that indicated she was “to the left” of her former boss, but would not cite the specific statements.
He labeled the race as “a choice between Jon Porter, an incumbent candidate with a record, versus Tessa Hafen and her desire to run.”
Reynolds called the 2nd Congressional District, which includes rural and northern Nevada, “ruby red.”
Secretary of State Dean Heller, the Republican nominee, is “an experienced leader with a record,” he said.
Reynolds described Heller’s opponent, University Regent Jill Derby, as a political unknown.
Democrats have sought to link both Porter and Heller to Republican leadership in Washington.
“Jon Porter and Dean Heller represent more of the same failed policies, including the mismanaged war in Iraq, failed energy policies that drove up gas prices and increasing numbers of uninsured Nevadans,” said Kirsten Searer, Nevada Democratic Party spokeswoman, in a statement.
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