Hot on the heels of the DCCC’s $150K media buy against Republican Bob Latta, the NRCC just poured in a good deal of cash into the OH-05 special election today. Check out the latest filing:
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE
1. Opposes Candidate: ROBIN WEIRAUCH FOR CONGRESS
Office Sought: House of Representatives, Ohio District 05
Payee: MAJORITY STRATEGIES
Date Expended = 12/03/2007 Amount Expended = $18178.81
Purpose: Mailing Service2. Opposes Candidate: ROBIN WEIRAUCH FOR CONGRESS
Office Sought: House of Representatives, Ohio District 05
Payee: MAJORITY STRATEGIES
Date Expended = 12/03/2007 Amount Expended = $14695.72
Purpose: Mailing Service3. Opposes Candidate: ROBIN WEIRAUCH FOR CONGRESS
Office Sought: House of Representatives, Ohio District 05
Payee: STEVENS REED CURCIO & POTHOLM
Date Expended = 12/03/2007 Amount Expended = $2313.00
Purpose: Media Production4. Opposes Candidate: ROBIN WEIRAUCH FOR CONGRESS
Office Sought: House of Representatives, Ohio District 05
Payee: STEVENS REED CURCIO & POTHOLM
Date Expended = 12/03/2007 Amount Expended = $10086.00
Purpose: Media Production5. Opposes Candidate: ROBIN WEIRAUCH FOR CONGRESS
Office Sought: House of Representatives, Ohio District 05
Payee: STEVENS REED CURCIO & POTHOLM
Date Expended = 12/03/2007 Amount Expended = $234505.00
Purpose: Issue Ad Placement
To do the math for you, that’s $280,000 to defend a rock solid Republican seat that Bush carried by 22 points in 2004. As we’ve said before, this is money the GOP can’t afford to spend — their latest fundraising report showed the committee to still be carrying a net debt of $1 million (compared to a net surplus of $27 million for the DCCC).
The GOP is seriously sweating this district? Inconceivable!
UPDATE: Here’s the ad that the DCCC put up on the air beginning yesterday:
Tying Republicans to Noe and Taft (two of the most hated recent figures in Ohio politics) has been an effective line of attack for Democrats in Ohio as of late. I haven’t gotten any word yet on the contents of the NRCC’s advertising.
This isn’t a response. A response would be a financial match, or respond with 50K and laugh at them thinking they can pickup the district.
This is Republicans fretting over what should be a safe seat. Clearly, we are in the blue, and everybody knows something we don’t. (Basically that this race is much more competitive than on paper – but we don’t know how much more competitive)
In Ohio-5, we ask, “Why rock?”
Answer, to put Latta in drydock
Making GOP cash pour out like sweat
And starting ’08 so deep in debt
Peace
They are spending 10% of their resources, twice as much money as us, in an R+10 district. If we win they will be so utterly demoralized. And from everything I’m hearing and reading Weirauch is a real true blue Democrat. It is good to be a Democrat these days.
any news on who filled for congress in Maryland…today was the filling deadline
would a flux of money cause a similar reaction in VA? we should try, either they won’t be able to spend it, and we might get a win, or they have to spend more money.
The Dems should spend another $150k here just to see what the Republicans will do. If they don’t have another round of spending, they we pretty much know they can’t.
They should also spend a $100k in Virginia.
That we win this but I still don’t think we can.
Even better would be the DSCC pouring like a million dollars into IL-14 and winning it for John Laesch. That would send the message that the Democrats are going to win next year and the Republicans can’t match that kind of buy.
If anything, at the minimum we’ll make the financial difference between Republicans and Democrats even greater. Then if we can come close or even win it, we would have a strong media narrative and momentum going into 2008. We’ll also be gaining needed voter contacts and attention in the district, which could valuable in the 2008 presidential elections.
In so many ways, this is a big plus for Democrats.