Sen. Dean Heller raised $1.4 million in the first quarter of the year, as he prepares for a tough re-election battle in 2018.
The Nevada Republican’s cash on hand wasn’t immediately made available by his campaign. But the senator finished 2016 with $1.4 million in the bank. If Heller spent relatively little since Dec. 31, he could have accumulated roughly $2.8 million.
Heller, 56, is the only Republican incumbent running for another term in a state that President Trump lost to Hillary Clinton in November. Nevada is ethnically diverse and Democrats gained across the board last year. Indeed, Heller at this point is among the few vulnerable Republicans on the midterm ballot.
All of that has made him a prime Democratic target in an election in which Democrats are defending 10 seats in states Trump won.
This year alone, Heller has absorbed about $2 million in attack ads run on Nevada television by progressive groups looking to influence his votes in the Senate and soften up his 2018 support.
Heller was serving in the House in 2011 when Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval appointed him to fill a vacant Senate seat. Heller narrowly won election to a full term in 2012, overcoming a Democratic advantage at the top of the ticket.
