The National Republican Congressional Committee must like their chances in Pennsylvania’s special House election, as they’re spending at least $200,000 there, including airing this ad:
The two items that jump out at me about this ad are that 58 percent of Pennsylvanians opposed the health-care bill – useful for reinforcing the sense that this was unpopular even in states that strongly preferred Obama – and the headline about U.S. Steel getting hit with $27 million in immediate new costs. The district has parts of coal and steel country, but obviously those industries employ fewer than they did in generations past; nonetheless, I suspect a lot of voters will see that headline and conclude, ‘Great, because that industry has piles of money lying around.’
The Republican candidate for this seat is Tim Burns; the election is in 36 days.