Harry Reid will provide Michigan Democrat Gary Peters a much-needed fundraising boost in Lake Tahoe over the weekend.
Reid will host a three-day fundraiser to benefit Peters at Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino in Incline Village where rooms go for between $529 and $729 per night.
Attendees who pony up the $10,000 political contribution to Reid’s Searchlight Lake Tahoe Victory Fund can enjoy "lavish amenities including a private lounge serving breakfast, a private concierge service, evening cocktails with hors d'oeuvres and complimentary Wi-Fi internet access."
Peters, a three-term congressman, has had trouble keeping pace with Republican nominee Terri Lynn Land in the money race. Land, a former secretary of state, has a $1 million cash advantage over the Democrat.
Peters has benefitted from an influx of support from national liberal special interests and outside groups, which recognize that Michigan will play a key role in determining the Senate majority in 2014. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has already spent more money on the Peters campaign than it spent on the 2012 and 2008 elections.
Democrats and their allies account for $4.2 of the $5 million in outside spending in the race. Reid’s Super PAC, the Senate Majority Fund, has been one of the biggest spenders of all, doling out more than $2 million to finance attack ads against Land.
Peters has previously accompanied Reid on profitable fundraisers. In February, Peters joined the Senate majority leader at a San Francisco fundraiser hosted by environmentalist hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer. The pair left Steyer’s mansion with $400,000 for Reid’s super PAC.
Reid’s previous Lake Tahoe jaunts have proved lucrative for other Democratic Senate nominees, according to Roll Call:
So far this cycle, Searchlight Lake Tahoe Victory Fund has contributed $19,698 to Sen. Mark Udall (D., Colo.) and $20,888 to Sen. Mark Begich (D., Alaska) both of whom have competitive re-election bids this cycle. It also gave $27,060 to the Searchlight Leadership Fund, Reid’s leadership PAC.
Republicans see Peters’ reliance on out-of-state money as an indication of his weakness as a candidate.
"People, even in the Democratic areas, aren’t too excited about Peters as a candidate, so he’s looking elsewhere for money," one Republican strategist said.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) won nearly 60 percent of the vote in 2012 and retiring Sen. Carl Levin won by 30 points in 2008.
Peters, however, has failed to capitalize on the state’s deep Blue voting patterns. A Real Clear Politics polling average shows Peters ahead by 4 points, but Land has managed to close the gap in recent weeks. Two August polls show Peters ahead by 1 point, down from the 9-point lead he held in a July EPIC-MRA poll.
The election will take place on Nov. 4.