If not for his more than $1 million in television ads in the campaign's closing weeks, many voters might not know that Rep. Jon Porter is running for re-election in Nevada's 3rd Congressional District.
In what has become an increasingly tight battle with Democrat Tessa Hafen, the two-term Republican congressman appears to have turned to a strategy that paradoxically blends stealth with TV saturation in an effort to limit the public's and the press' accessibility.
Even as Porter's ads are becoming omnipresent on local television stations in the countdown to Nov. 7, his personal appearances seem to be moving in the other direction.
Since Oct. 1, the Sun has been able to confirm only five public appearances by Porter - two televised debates, an Oct. 20 groundbreaking at the Veterans Affairs medical center, an Oct. 12 appearance with U.S. drug czar John Walters and a Republican Men's Luncheon on Oct. 2. Porter's campaign spokesman, Ryan Temme, said two weeks ago that Porter also met recently with the Nevada Senior Coalition.
The Sun has asked Porter's campaign for a list of any additional past or future campaign appearances. The campaign, however, has not responded to that request.
The "events" section of Porter's campaign Web site lists no events - and has not for the majority of the race.
Porter's strategy - which includes a refusal to take telephone calls from the Sun and reporters at other publications - reflects an effort to tightly control what voters hear.
"The first rule of campaigning is to be able to control your message," said Steve Wark, a former Nevada Republican Party chairman and longtime political consultant. "There is always tension between being totally open and available to the press as an elected official and the strategic need to control your message in a campaign."
Porter, however, has been leaning toward control rather than openness.
Porter has channeled many of his resources toward one-way messaging, spending more than $1.2 million on television advertisements on Southern Nevada's four local television stations during the final month of the race.
But as he pounds the airwaves, his contact with the media and the public falls short of what is normally found in a tight, high-profile race.
Recent polls have shown Porter leading the race by only a few percentage points, and several national political observers have moved the race into more competitive categories in recent weeks.
"I think Jon Porter is foolish to shut out members of the press," said Chuck Muth, a Republican political operative. "This is not unprecedented, but I think it's a bad idea. They've got to learn how to play in the sandbox with everyone."
Such reclusive strategies can backfire, especially if voters suspect that a candidate is trying to avoid questions, said Shawn Parry-Giles, director of the Center for Political Communication and Civic Leadership at the University of Maryland.
"It's not terribly smart," she said. "As soon as you stop talking to the press, it's going to raise speculation about why."
Porter's reasons could have something to do with the national political environment, which includes low approval ratings for President Bush and dissatisfaction with the Republican-led Congress.
With incumbent Republicans on the defensive in campaigns throughout the country, Porter's bunker mentality makes sense, said Pete Ernaut, a veteran Republican consultant.
"This is like a Whack-a-Mole cycle," he said. "Anytime someone sticks their head up they get hit with a sledgehammer."
Porter came under attack Sunday in a Sun story in which a former staffer accused him of making illegal fundraising phone calls from his government offices in Washington and Henderson. Porter has denied the accusation.
His response to the charge, however, is typical of his campaign.
Until a Sun reporter confronted him after a television taping Thursday, Porter had not publicly addressed the accusations except in a written statement Monday in which he dismissed the allegations as "completely false."
Porter has set a policy in which he will only respond in writing to written questions from the Sun. The paper has rejected that condition.
When he spoke briefly with a Sun reporter Thursday after taping a debate on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," it was only because he had little choice.
Asked where he was when he made the alleged campaign phone calls referred to in e-mails obtained by the Sun, Porter said: "I did not make illegal fundraising phone calls."
He then attacked the Sun.
"The problem I have with the Sun is you have supported my opponent," he said. "You're one of the largest donors to her campaign. And you have not been honest with my staff."
He then walked away.
The Sun does not donate to political races, although the paper's owner, Brian Greenspun, and his family have contributed to Hafen's campaign.
Porter has blacklisted other media and reporters as well.
He has refused to talk to CityLife, a local weekly newspaper, since at least April 2005 because he did not like the paper's coverage of his 2004 campaign, CityLife Editor Steve Sebelius aid.
Last week, however, Porter appeared on a television show hosted by Sebelius.
Erin Neff, a writer at the Las Vegas Review-Journal, said Porter has refused to return her phone calls for about three years - again because he was displeased with her coverage of his last campaign.
Porter's campaign insists he speaks to the media regularly.
"The congressman has had significant contact with various media outlets throughout Southern Nevada," campaign spokesman Temme said. "This list includes, but is not limited to, Steve Sebelius, Paul Harasim from the R-J, as well as the papers in Laughlin and Moapa Valley."
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