Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Jacky Rosen will report $416,000 on hand for the race against GOP incumbent Dean Heller, meaning she starts about $3 million behind him, I've confirmed.

To be fair, Rosen intentionally waited until after the second quarter reporting period, which ended June 30, to announce her Senate candidacy. (She raised $300,000 in that quarter.) And much of the spending in the race, including millions from third parties, and the bulk of the heavy fundraising lifting, will come next year.

But this is a huge gap with Heller, whose total is ahead of his 2012 election pace while lagging behind other vulnerable incumbents. Rosen has her fundraising work cut out for her, and will be aided by experienced hand Emily Hawkins to raise money and Anne Lewis Strategies to boost her online donations -- the same team that helped Catherine Cortez Masto edge Joe Heck in last cycle's Nevada Senate contest.

It will be interesting to see the third-quarter report to judge how Rosen is doing in the most important Senate race in the country and the first Nevada contest in the post-Harry Reid Era.