Meanwhile, campaign sources say McCain will be in Reno that day.

The unpopular president is considered political kryptonite for McCain and other Republican politicians, so it's perhaps not surprising that their paths aren't expected to cross.

Gov. Jim Gibbons is among the governors scheduled to attend the Republican gathering at The Venetian.

Also attending, according to the invitation, are the governors of Texas, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Utah.

After the afternoon fundraiser reception with the president, for which ticket packages start at $5,000, the governors are scheduled to hold a vice presidential debate watch party.

Details of McCain's visit haven't been released.

SPECIALLY INTERESTED

In the time-honored tradition of political ads attacking candidates' perceived strengths rather than weaknesses, a new television ad paints state Sen. Dina Titus as weak on education.

Titus, the Democratic challenger to Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., in the 3rd Congressional District, is an educator herself and generally considered an advocate for education in Carson City. Porter's new ad charges that she "voted against reforms to improve our schools." Among other things, it says she "voted against giving local schools control of class sizes."

"Dina Titus: Whose side is she on?" the ad intones in closing. "Not ours. The special interests."

Titus' campaign fired back by wondering what special interests the ad is referring to and charging that it is Porter who has taken campaign contributions from industry and then done corporations' bidding. The 2003 and 2005 votes on class sizes, Titus' campaign said, would have allowed local districts to increase them beyond the student-teacher ratios mandated in class-size reduction legislation, and that's why she opposed the bills in question.

"As an educator for 30 years, Dina Titus is committed to Nevada's students and teachers, unlike Jon Porter who supported the largest cut to student aid in history and underfunded No Child Left Behind," Titus spokesman Andrew Stoddard said.

ON THE AIR

Republican John McCain continues to outspend Democrat Barack Obama when it comes to Nevada television advertising.

According to a national analysis of post-convention ad spending by the Wisconsin Advertising Project, McCain's campaign spent $365,000 on Nevada commercials during the week of Sept. 6-13, while Obama's spent $297,000.

Nevada was one of 17 states where Obama was on the air, while McCain was buying airtime in 15 states, the study found. The two candidates spent $15 million on advertising that week alone.

While independent groups haven't been as active in this election as they were four years ago, there are signs they are starting to step up their involvement. The liberal issues group MoveOn.org last week started targeting McCain in Nevada and other states with an ad that hits his ties to lobbyists.

The ad shows a succession of clips of McCain using his trademark salutation, "My friends," then asks, "When John McCain says, 'My friends,' do you know who he's talking about?"

It then shows some of the top lobbyists who have been McCain advisers and contributors.

The group is spending $200,000 to air the ad on Nevada networks. It's also airing on national cable.

The race in Nevada continues to be a tight one, according to polling. A Sept. 12-14 statewide poll by American Research Group put McCain up, 49 percent to 46 percent. The poll of 600 likely Nevada voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

NOT SO GLOOMY

Sen. John Ensign has dropped the Eeyore bit when it comes to talking about Republican prospects in U.S. Senate races this fall.

The once-downcast chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee says he is newly optimistic, to the point where he mused to reporters last week that it might be possible for the party to hold on at its current 49 seats in the Senate or lose just one or two.

Political analysts said that probably is way too optimistic. But on the other hand, they say a scenario where Democrats expand their 51-seat majority to close to 60 seats also may be hard to achieve.

Throughout this year, Ensign had spread woe, saying it would be a good election night if Republicans lost just four Senate seats. The party is defending 23 seats, double the Democrats' number, and lagged in fundraising.

It got to the point where some Republicans were complaining to reporters -- anonymously, of course -- that they were growing tired of the Nevadan's pessimism.

But as vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin energized the prospects for GOP presidential nominee John McCain, there has been spillover to Senate candidates as well, Ensign said.

"Sarah Palin definitely gave a boost," Ensign said. "In races where we were way down, those races are even, and in some of the races that were even, we are up."

He added Republicans expect Palin will boost GOP turnout in a big way.

But Republicans now face the prospect that Palin's magic touch might be fading.

A CBS News/New York Times national poll conducted Sept. 12-16 showed her favorable rating dropped four points in a week, to 40 percent, while her unfavorable rating grew by 8 points, to 30 percent, according to a CNN analysis.

Besides a Palin bounce, Republicans gained momentum talking about oil drilling through the summer, Ensign said.

Fundraising also picked up, with Ensign's team surpassing its Democratic counterpart in August, $5.2 million to $4.4 million.

Democrats still have a sizeable money lead, even after spending $13.7 million in August, mostly on TV ads in key states like North Carolina, Mississippi and Colorado.

As of Sept. 1, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee had $33.7 million in the bank while the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee had $26.8 million.

Contact reporter Molly Ball at mball @reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919.