As promised, the DCCC has begun to pull funding for weaker candidates in districts across the country, in an effort salvage what they can heading into what is sure to be a miserable November for the Democrats. Here are just a few recent examples:
Pennsylvania (10th, 11th):
“A national Democratic committee has cut the amount of television commercial time it bought earlier this summer locally to support the candidacies of incumbent Reps. Chris Carney and Paul E. Kanjorski. . . NRCC spokesman Tory Mazzola said the reduction shows the DCCC has lost faith in the two candidates because of their support for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic agenda.” (Borys Krawczeniuk, “Dems Cut Local Congressional Ad Buy,” Times Tribune, 9/15/2010)
Illinois (10th, 11th, 14th):
“Dems will reduce cable buys in the Chicago market, saving valuable resources that might be spent elsewhere. The party is optimistic that Pres. Obama will not let any of the 3 Dems running in competitive races — Reps. Bill Foster (D) and Debbie Halvorson (D) and marketing consultant Dan Seals in the open IL 10 contest — want for money.” (Reid Wilson, “Dems Scaling Back Arizona Ad Buys,” Hotline On Call, 9/13/2010)
Arizona (1st, 5th, 8th):
“The DCCC is readjusting advertising buys in key districts across the nation, including in Arizona, where party strategists say incumbent Reps. Ann Kirkpatrick (D), Harry Mitchell (D) and Gabrielle Giffords (D) are running stronger than expected campaigns.” (Reid Wilson, “Dems Scaling Back Arizona Ad Buys,” Hotline On Call, 9/13/2010)
North Dakota (At-Large):
“The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has pulled two weeks of scheduled advertising in the North Dakota market that would promote the re-election of Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D.” (Rebecca Beitsch, “Democratic campaign group pulls ads,” Bismarck Tribune, 9/16/2010)
A Democratic committee’s decision to pull advertising money it planned to spend in North Dakota has state Republicans claiming Rep. Earl Pomeroy was “cut loose” after months of running behind Republican challenger Rick Berg in the polls. (Ryan Johnson, Dem committee cancels ad buys for Pomeroy,” Grand Forks Herald, 9/15/2010)